How To Tell The Difference Between Musky / Tiger Musky & Northern Pike A Tiger Musky is a hybrid of a Northern Pike and a Muskie. The best way to tell if a fish is a Tiger Musky is to look at the fins and the pattern on the fish. The skin pattern runs into the fin like a Pike The top tip on the tail is somewhat pointed like a Muskie while the bottom tip of the tail is round like a Pike. The skin pattern has more vertical pointing spots instead of horizontal chain-links or solid stripes. Some Tiger Muskie look more like Pike than Muskie. Other times they look more like Muskie.