So how long do you figure we have left until the current tiger muskies die of old age? And what is the average life span of a tiger muskie versus a northern pike or a full blooded muskie? I know I’m asking some tough questions that depend on a lot of variables just want to know some educated opinions.
I’m not sure what the stats for Utah are. I have not heard or seen any published studies by Utah DWR. But, I have found info from several other states, that have studied both muskies and tiger muskies over a fairly long period of time. Here is a graph from studies done in Pennsylvania.
It looks like the fish we are seeing around 30 inches are maybe 5 years old…and that they should have another 10 years or so under good conditions.
I am also attaching a PDF file I made of another chart I found. Should be worth saving for use in figuring approximate weights and ages based upon lengths when you C & R.
And, here is a growth chart for northern pike, from Minnesota.
Great info Pat. Thanks for posting it.
I may not be a good fisherman, but I am a pretty good hunter on the Internet.
Bassrods: Does the DWR own all the ponds out by the gun dog range and are they planning a bass program as well?
I was told it would be for warm water and first on the list is tigers…
Thanks for the info, I had no idea that they could be so long lived, it looks like the first five years or so are the important groth years and it tapers off after that. So if we all take a little time when landing those big beautiful fish, and follow the steps to return them safely to the water we could be catching tigers for several years to come even if we don’t get any replacements for some time.