True muskies have light colored bodies. They can be silver, light green, or light brown. They usually have dark bars on their sides. This is the opposite of the Northern pike which Muskies are sometimes confused with. Northern pike (northerns) have dark bodies with light colored bars on the sides. Muskies also have scales only on the upper half of the cheek. The best way to tell the two apart is the pores under the jaw. Northerns have five or less; muskies have six or more. Males are always smaller than females.