THE GREAT OUTDOORS — While enjoying your afternoon on lakes such as Pineview Reservoir fishing for perch and crappie, why not set a trap for a tiger muskie, too?

Tiger muskies are a hybrid species that is a cross between a muskellunge and a northern pike. Some very large, very aggressive tiger muskies live in Pineview and can be caught, or at least temporarily hooked, through the ice.

On occasion, an angler can catch a tiger muskie with their regular perch rigging. But these fish are generally difficult to land with such light tackle. Ranging in sizes up to 40 inches and longer and 20-plus pounds makes for a worthy adversary.

In order to get your potential trophy in, you’ll need a few advantages to your approach for this catch and release-only monster. Here are some tips for catching tiger muskies ice fishing:

Tip-ups or heavy rods

Many anglers like using a tip-up, which allows a muskie to run after grabbing the bait. This gives you the opportunity to get a solid hook set once the lure has been taken and you’ve grabbed the heavy line in your hands. With a tip-up, you bring in your catch hand over hand, allowing the line to lay on the ice in neat coils.

One style of tip-up is a device that has a flag attached to a pop-up metal rod, connected to the spool, signaling a strike has occurred. You do need to be prepared to allow the fish to make a run or two, allowing line to feedback through your fingers, because they will run when they get close to the hole. So don’t allow your line to tangle. Tip-up line with a vinyl coating is good to use because it is thicker than braid or monofilament, making it easier to handle and it coils nicely as the big fish is brought to the hole in the ice.

A heavier-than-usual ice rod and reel works well too and can be placed in either a rod holder with the drag loosened slightly to allow for that initial run, or in a self-hook setting device that will pop the rod up once your line begins to be taken by the fish. Also think about using braided line, as it is difficult to get cut against either the ice or the toothy critter’s teeth. It’s a no-stretch line, so care has to be taken with your drag so as not to overtighten, allowing the fish to make a run or two without breaking off.

Steel leaders

A good practice for fishing for tiger muskies is to utilize a wire leader connected to your lure. This will increase your chances of keeping a muskie on while decreasing the chances of the fish chewing through a monofilament leader. A tiger muskie has a large mouthful of teeth that can easily slice through monofilament line, and the steel leaders are tough without being so large in diameter that it can be easily seen by the fish. Muskies aren’t too shy of leaders, anyway, and will strike a lure hard quite often.

Lures

Jigging Raps, Salmo Darters and other such minnow/bait fish imitations work well for enticing a fish to bite. A coloration such as a perch pattern on your lure at lakes containing perch is also a good choice when selecting the proper lure. On such rigs as the HT Windlass tip-up, the slightest breeze will move the bladed arm of the trap, allowing for a jigging motion to the lure. This allows you to fish a second pole actively while waiting for that telltale flag to fly.

Cut bait

There are a variety of options for tipping your lure with bait, to sweeten your offering and help entice a bite. Packaged minnows are one solution, while a piece of perch meat in a reservoir such as Pineview are great attractors by putting that extra scent into the water.

Be sure about the local regulations wherever you fish cut bait. At Pineview, for example, the piece of perch meat cannot be larger than 1-inch square in any direction, and no more than one piece per hook. Most jigging minnow lures have a treble hook in the middle of the bottom of the lure. Placing your cut bait or packaged minnow on that hook will help keep your lure balanced and horizontal in its presentation.

Other ideas for success

Keep your hole free of ice when using a “tiger trap” rod or tip-up, as this will keep your line loose and will trigger with the slightest pull from a fish. Sometimes you’ll hook an extra-large “sumo” perch on such a rig, but be prepared with gloves that you can get wet for landing a toothy muskie as well. You can get a really nasty cut from those teeth and sharp gill plates.

While handling the fish, hold it horizontally, not vertically, as this may injure the fish’s spine. Take a couple of quick pictures of your trophy catch and then revive the fish in the hole until it is able to swim away on its own.

Experiment with different setups and the depth you place your lure. A foot off the bottom works well, but even suspending your lure ¾ of the way to the bottom will produce cruising muskies looking for an easy meal. Where there are panfish, there are often predators nearby.

This is not to say that muskie fishing is fast and furious through the ice, because it isn’t. But they do feed opportunistically, and they can be caught with some good fortune on your side.

Tiger muskie reside not just in Pineview, but also Newton Reservoir in Cache County, and several other waters around the state. Be sure to check the 2018 Fishing Guidebook for additional information.

Please include your own ideas and tactics in the comment section.

For ideas on places to fish in Utah, visit Utah.com.

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