Freshwater Shark Week: Can Pike and Muskie Attack Humans?

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Northern Pike caught near Minaki, Ontario


Growing up in Ontario, big Pike and Muskie were what dreams were made of for a kid who spent the majority of his weekends on the water. While these 40+ inch fish were a dream to catch, these big toothy predators quickly became a nightmare for a young kid looking to cool off in the same water they swim, bringing to mind scenes from Jaws every time you jumped off the dock. Although, thankfully, these childhood nightmares never came true, news stories seem to pop up every couple of years that prove that others aren’t so lucky.


Lakeside Caravan Park, Wales: 1999

One of the few confirmed cases of a Northern Pike attacking a human actually occurred across the pond at a small lakeside resort in southern Wales. This lake is renowned for its Pike fishing and produces trophy fish on an annual basis.


While out water skiing, tourist Darren Blake came across one of these trophies in the worst way possible when a giant Northern latched onto his ankle while he was standing in the water waiting for his friends to pick him up. Although the wound was deep and likely required a few stitches, the Pike reportedly let go of Darren’s foot almost immediately after realizing its target was much bigger than it once thought (The Guardian, 1999).


The full story of this attack can be found at


Island Lake, Minnesota: 2017

Another case of unfortunate mistaken identity was seen on Island Lake in Minnesota in 2017, though the damage was much more severe.


11-year old Maren Kesselhon was paddle boarding with her family one summer afternoon when they decided to take a break near the local boat launch. This peaceful scene quickly turned gruesome when Maren’s leg was grabbed from beneath the paddleboard by what was later suspected to be a large muskie. This wound amounted to over 25 separate lacerations and would require surgery to repair the damaged tendons (Cook, 2017).


The full story of this attack as well as pictures of the wound can be found


Minaki, Ontario: 2020

One of the most recent, and perhaps the most unique, reports of these fish attacking humans was just this July when Winnipeg woman, Kim Driver, was swimming at a local fishing resort in Minaki, Ontario.


This attack came in chest-deep water when a near 40” Muskie grabbed her by her calf and proceeded to shake and pull until she was completely submerged. While she thankfully did get free, the wound left by the fish required extensive plastic surgery and will surely leave a scarring memory.


This full story, along with photographs of the injury, can be found


What Cause These Fish to Attack

This most recent case is perhaps the most unusual due to the depth of the water she was swimming. As seen in the other notable cases, people often encounter these fish when dangling individual hands or feet into the water, making it difficult for the fish to determine how big their target actually is.


For this reason, my first thought when I read the Minaki story was that she must have been wearing some sort of jewelry, such as an anklet or bracelet, that would have lured the fish in and caused it to zone in on one spot. Lifeguards in tropical locations with large Barracuda populations often warn swimmers about wearing jewelry for this very reason, as the fish are easily lured in by shiny objects and can be triggered to strike by any flashy movement. In fact, many Pike and Musky baits mimic exactly this, using flashy silver and gold paired with rapid movement to entice big fish to strike.


While this theory may be true for Barracuda, I was able to find no evidence of this provoking attacks from freshwater fish such as Pike or Muskie, leaving these cases to simple bad luck and unfortunate instances of misidentification.


First Hand Experience

While I have thankfully never been “attacked” by one of these fish, my experience as a Pike angler and a guide has brought my hands far too close to their toothy mouth’s more times than I can count. Although these injuries are often little more than a scratch, an incident just last summer showed me the true danger these fish can pose.

While guiding a fly-out bass and pike trip in the Manitoba backcountry I carelessly attempted to remove a deep hook with my bare hands to allow my client to get back into the water as quickly as possible. This decision was instantly regretted when the jaw spreaders that were holding the fish’s mouth open sprung out and allowed the fish to clamp down on my thumb. While the injury was relatively minor, the timing of the bite turned out to be much more of an issue.

The bite took place early in the morning and rather than spending my clients time sanitizing my wounds, I decided that toilet paper and hockey tape would do the trick until I got back to camp. After flying back to camp and eventually sanitizing the cut, over 12 hours later, I decided to head to bed. After waking up and removing the fresh homemade Canadian bandage, I noticed multiple blisters forming on my hand. Thinking nothing of it and having new guests waiting for me in camp, I decided to fashion another bandage and head out for the day. By the end of the day these two blisters had turned to 20, warranting a 5 hour ride to the local hospital, where I was told my hands were infected with a waterborne bacteria stemming from the Pike’s bite.



















While this Pike-related injury was more my doing than any fish’s, it at least highlights the importance of washing and sanitizing your hand after dealing with fish, as fish such as Northern Pike are host to a number of nasty bacteria that are far more of a threat to humans than them stalking your evening swim.


References:

Aiken, M., 2020. Muskie Attack Was 'Terrifying'. [online] Kenora Online. Available at: <https://kenoraonline.com/local/muskie-attack-was-terrifying> [Accessed 11 August 2020].


Cook, S., 2017. Muskie Attack? Girl, 11, Recovering From Scary Encounter On Minnesota Lake – Twin Cities. [online] Twincities.com. Available at: <https://www.twincities.com/2017/07/21/muskie-attack-girl-11-recovering-from-scary-encounter-on-minnesota-lake/> [Accessed 11 August 2020].


The Guardian. 1999. Water Skier Bitten By Giant Pike. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/sep/01/2> [Accessed 11 August 2020].


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