Check out this video......lots of big Muskies being caught in MN lately, but this one caught a big pike......

Muskie clamping Pike

Better start throwing those 3 foot long lures if you want to catch the big ones :)

Certainly wouldn't want to bring that dude into my canoe, I prefer my ankles just the way they are, sans teeth marks.

I'm curious... Could a muskie actually eat a pike that big? Or is it just hanging on to it due to some sort of hunting instinct?

Saw that QM, pretty cool. As big as he is, seems like he would have a hard time getting that pike down....

quote Bdubguy: "Saw that QM, pretty cool. As big as he is, seems like he would have a hard time getting that pike down...."

i wondered how long it would hold onto the pike before it attempted to swallow it ?

Is swallowing the thing whole the only way a muskie would try to eat something that big? Is there any chance it would just tear some of it apart and try to eat it that way? I don't know much about muskie feeding.

i dont believe so (on your 2nd question) , i've seen videos of fish that are just a few pounds apart , and the tail of the smaller fish is hanging out its mouth , i figure at sometime the musky would take the fish head first and swallow it whole , or die trying.

yup, not all that unusual actually. Small pike start their lives by eating each other and they are very close in size.

I believe that bigger Muskie and Northern target big and very big meals and get somewhat conditioned to food a certain size. A 2lb whitefish would be perfect for a big pike or Muskie and probably last them several days especially in the cooler waters they prefer to inhabit. Probably explains why big pike and Muskie will be out roaming main lake basins away from any structure whatsoever.

i've had muskie and large pike clamp onto a walleye or perch for a few seconds close to the boat, but let go, saw a large muskie suck up some ducklings once on a lake in the cities.

my guess is that this guy has that pike stuck in his mouth. hopefully he can shake it out.

tyh

That pike thought he was the king of the sea. Oops.

I've always wondered why muskie aren't in more BW/Quetico lakes....

Check out these bite marks from a fish I had on for several minutes in WCPP. She stayed connected long enough for me to paddle to shore and only relinquished its grip as it got near shore.

Surely it was a behemoth of a fish and the one I was looking for. I caught several between 14 and 16lbs and this one felt much larger. I am guessing near or over 50" due to the spacing of the marks.