Legends of the Tiger Muskie?

[bignose]

I saw a very big Tiger Muskie in Little Seneca Lake. The water was crystal clear and it looked bigger than my canoe paddle.
I have also seen them infrequently on the Upper Potomac, a couple in the Brunswick area, and in the Taylor's Landing area.
Alan Klotz, DNR Western Area Manager, posts a lot pictures on the DNR website of the ones he catches in the Upper Potomac.

There is a local guy here who fishes for suckers in the spring for Muskie bait.

[nhunter344]

I would check out the rivers up near Frederick/Hagerstown. Seems like most dicks sporting goods up that way stock musky baits. I assume they wouldn’t have a section for just musky lures and rods if they aren’t selling. It would defiantly be a great catch!

I may be wrong, but those may be intended for the upper Potomac. I hear stories fairly regularly about people catching muskie there. In fact I think someone just caught the MD state record up there this past year.

[DanMarino]

If I was going to target a muskie around here, I would hit the Upper Potomac between Brunswick and Hagerstown. If that didn't suit your situation, then I understand Codorus State Park's Lake Marburg in PA has them.

[YakMan1731]

When Centennial first opened, it wasn't bad. Then it got infested with hydrilla, and the lake got clogged by matts of weeds from mid June on.

As for the Columbia Association ponds, in order to launch a craft there legally (it's private property) you have to register with Columbia Association on Gerwig Lane. No charge for the permit. You do not have to be a Columbia resident.
I wrote extensively about a year ago about them on this site, you'll have to do a little search to find this information. Try using "Columbia Lakes" in the search box and you should get what you want.

Fantastic. Thanks for the info! Centennial's weed situation in the summer is definitely a downer. I'd love to try out those new spots. Much appreciated.

[YakMan1731]

I saw a very big Tiger Muskie in Little Seneca Lake. The water was crystal clear and it looked bigger than my canoe paddle.

I know Little Seneca well and really love fishing there. For some reason I have never had a truly great day there, but it's such a scenic lake and easy to carve out some space even when it's busy that I try to make it 4-5 times a year. Maybe during this spring I'll do some trolling with diving crankbaits and see if I can get ahold of a tiger muskie. If largies are a by catch then I will not be complaining!

[Turtle135]

Little Seneca Lake (in Black Hill Regional Park) was loaded with Tiger Musky years ago. I believe the deal is that they used to stock them in much higher numbers than they are currently stocking. So they are still there but the population is small and catching one is something of a rarity. Tigers are sterile and can not reproduce so the population is completely dependent on stocking.

They have a tendency to suspend deep during the summer months as I believe their preferred temperature is just under 70 degrees. The time to find out if they are in Centennial would be early season when the water hits 58 - 60 degrees. I used to whack the heck out of them on a Rapala DT6 crankbait. Something about the tight wiggle of that crank would turn them on. Not the best way to catch a monster Tiger but a good way to make contact with the population.

[YakMan1731]

Thanks Dave, that's excellent information. Even if I get one small one it would be the first muskie I've seen in person and definitely the first caught, so that is a great help. Hopefully some exploratory trolling in mid-March (teacher spring break) can yield a bite.

[mchottie]

Since viewing this video, I think a giant Muskie is added the fresh-water bucket list...