DNR contiplating stocking Musky's in Sauk River Chain.

[Brad B]

hevi shot when you say rough fish I hope your not refering to the catfish.

[river rat316]

river rat,

I have a map of that section of river and on it they have one of the bends labeled as musky bend but to me it doesn't look like it is up by clearwater. my map says that from the nuclear plant discharge up river is the designated muskie area. musky bend is at river mile 33 on my map (33 miles up river from anoka, this map goes from anoka to st cloud)the clearwater access is at river mile 39. of course this map may be outdated it has a copyright of 1986

I have fished this river hard my whole life and have seen 1 Muskie from Clearwater down, from Clearwater up its a little better but not much. The river is to shallow, the thing about the Brainerd and St Cloud stretches while they are shallow they still have very large pools that are deep fairly close. The whole upper Miss is designated c&r for muskies, it doesn't mean they are there. I was told by the DNR when they put the reg in that its easier to blanket the whole river with a special reg than just certain sections. DNR fisheries people have told me there will never be a good population in these stretches because of the nature of the river and predation by birds and other fish.

As far as Flats, I thought I caught one one time to but CO's say NO WAY, they are not here, they have years of electro fishing data and have never seen a flat pop up. Like ShackBash said there are deformities that happen and the channels change color depending on the season.

The upper miss is a good fisherie and doesn't need an invasive like stinky old flats anyway, they will just mess with the natural balance oif the river, if they introduce hopefully they introduce fingerlings so the smallies can fatten up on them

[river rat316]

river rat316 has deliverance written all over him

In your weakened state I don't know how smart I would get

[BrdHunter01]

The Horseshoe Chain would be perfect for muskies. Look at all the bottom feeding ruff fish in the water that the muskies could help clean out. Which in the end would have a positive effect on the walleye fishing.

Positively effect the walleye population? By eating walleyes and their bait fish?.... Please explain how this would have a "positive effect" any type of fish (walleyes, crappies, sunfish)? Other than cutting down of the overpopulated catfish.....

I didn't know a predator like a muskie, who would be at the top of the food chain and eat all species of fish (including walleyes, craps, and sunfish), would help the population of these fish? Thats a good one! LOL

[DHanson]

You might want to educate yourself on the issue or you might look foolish. Facts please, not assumptions. I have read the research on introducing muskies to new waters with an open mind and have educated myself on the issue. I suggest you read the research with an open mind and you might find that you have learned something.

(This is coming from a multi-species angler who enjoys fishing for walleye, pike, bass, crappie, sunfish, perch, trout, and muskie equally.)

[Shack]

I figure the channels would have done away with the walleyes years ago!

[Rick G]

Some of the best walleye lakes/rivers I know of have stocked muskies in them.

[AWH]

BrdHunter01,

After your initial post on this thread, I asked you how muskies would be bad for this body of water. I'm not real familiar with the chain, so maybe there's something you know that can help us understand? Maybe you missed that question of mine, as you never did answer. I do find it interesting that most people that are against muskies don't usually have reasons other than "things they have heard" and nothing for factual evidence that shows they can be bad for a lake. If that kind of evidence is out there, it would be good for all of us to know so we don't go down that same road.

Here's something that I found on how different species react to the introduction of muskies in MN waters. It's pretty interesting and worth a read for anyone that cares about our fisheries.

Fish Community Responses to the Introduction of Muskellunge in Minnesota Lakes

Having a top of the line predator in a body of water is absolutely a good thing. In any healthy body of water, you will have a top of the line predator. Usually that's either northern pike or muskies. I've yet to see any example of healthy populations of these fish being bad for walleyes. With pike, things can sometimes get out of balance when you get overrun with stunted pike. Luckily, that's not something we have to worry about with muskies the way the MN DNR manages our lakes. Managing our musky lakes as low density populations, it ensures the musky populations will remain healthy and will not adversely effect other species.

Aaron

[AWH]

Think about things in a different way. Rather than looking at it as, "they're going to be out there eating the walleyes and the walleye's food as well"....first of all, muskies don't eat a lot of walleyes. But think about what all species do. They all eat each other and each other's food as well. Does this mean that every species is bad for the others? Do we need a system that is nothing but walleyes? The facts are that the different species are all part of the fish community. A healthy fishery and they all benefit from having the other species around. But you need to be able to unnderstand what goes on below the surface and how they interact.

Aaron

[BrdHunter01]

Facts please, not assumptions.

Is it a fact or assumption that these muskies will eat walleyes, crappies, and sunfish? Hmmmm

I fish Mille Lacs more than I fish the chain (in the summer anyway) so I know that the walleyes are "still their" and I understand that all species of fish eat eachother. Also a year or two ago wasn't their a whole class of walleyes from mille lacs that was missing/almost completely wiped out? I know this was a year when bait fish were extremely scarce in the lake, and i'm sure all species of fish were eating those walleyes, i'm not soley blaming the muskies but I'm sure they ate their fair share. Also I know that muskies are very territorial fish. On Mille lacs we use to hammer the northerns until the "muskies" moved in. They practically kicked them out.

I'm not saying muskies are a horrible thing, I just don't think they are a "great" thing to put in these lakes like all you guys "think" thats jmo

[BrdHunter01]

All I'm saying is these lakes are in great shape, so why does the DNR need to mess with them? The DNR don't even have the resources to stock enough walleyes in these lakes and keep track of the #'s and natural reproduction. But they now have the resources to stock and manage muskies in these lakes? Kinda like they managed the catfish right?

[ChiggerCraw]

I agree with Hevishot...I don't fish the chain a lot but when I do I've caught a lot of 15 inch redhorse suckers. Perfect fish for muskies to eat. Are they going to eat just suckers...no they'll eat just about anything when their hungry and that includes ducklings. I just love how people think that muskies will just eat walleyes and their food. Open your minds...it just might be that muskies will eat the smaller fish in turn making more trophy's to be had...who knows not too mention how happy would your son/daughter, friend that never fishes to catch a fish of that caliber. One of the other lakes that I fish quite a bit is also being considered for management. I welcome it just because there's always that possibility of catching a trophy sometime in the future.

[BrdHunter01]

The DNR can't even manage the walleyes and the catfish in the chain.... Now there going to just throw muskies in their? And be able to manage them?

I'm pretty sure more people around here would like to see the walleyes and catfish managed better before they start throwing skies in their....

I think its a little to late for the catfish, but the walleyes must, and can be, managed much better before throwing a predator fish like a muskie in their....

[Rick G]

Imo the walleye fishing has been pretty darn good on the chain for the 20+ years I have been fishing it.

[JBMasterAngler]

I don't think muskies are as territorial as one might believe. I fish a lake that has a high number of muskies, and I see them getting chased around all the time by little smallmouth bass. Always reminds me of the little songbirds that chase away the big crow. Of course the tides are turned when I'm reeling in that same bass...poor guys just don't stand a chance

On a side note, I have fished the chain twice and my walleye success rate is 100%. And I have yet to spend 1 minute actually targeting them.

[nater]

KEEP THEM OUT OF OUR LAKES!

[ChiggerCraw]

What do you mean managing? I've caught my personal best walleye and catfish on the chain...28 1/4" walleye a few years ago along with a 30"+ catfish. Hopefully both are still swimming...I also know that I've seen and heard of bigger fish than that so I'm not quite sure what you mean they (DNR) can't manage either species properly.

[AWH]

Is it a fact or assumption that these muskies will eat walleyes, crappies, and sunfish? Hmmmm

What Do Muskies Really Eat?

This is in brochure format. So you'll actually want to read the second page first and then the first page.

Aaron

[ducksnbucks]

Many lakes in MN have great walleye and muskie population. Large lakes such as Winni, Cass, Leech, and Lake of The Woods as well as smaller lakes like Bemidji, Plantaganette, and Sugar.

I don't fish muskies a lot but it would sure be nice to have another option close to home to target them!!

[ChiggerCraw]

...On Mille lacs we use to hammer the northerns until the "muskies" moved in. They practically kicked them out.

Maybe the muskies weren't the ones that kicked them out...

[river rat316]

Maybe the fact that everyone else was hammering them, and keeping them. We as fisherman have more effect on a fishery then lots think

[BrdHunter01]

LMAO so what will the muskies eat? Only the redhorse? I doubt it....

As the Muskie chases down his next meal, he gets within striking distance, opens his mouth, and then stops.... O this is a walleye, I'm not going to eat that LOL. Get real, They will eat anything that comes between them and their next meal....

Yes the chain is in great shape.... So why mess with it? BTW the stocking of walleyes in the chain is done privately more than by our DNR. I believe its the chain of lakes assosiation or something like that and they continue to ask the DNR to sample the lakes and the DNR keeps responding "We don't have enough resourses" hmmmmm But they have enough resourses to stock and manage a muskie population?

Also when I was speaking of the catfish I was trying the explain the EXTREME POPULATION of catfish that have practically become a nuisance to most people not targeting them.

Also whats wrong with northern pike? Why cant the DNR put limits on them and let them grow to trophy size before stocking a foriegn predator?

[DHanson]

Walleyes are just as foreign as the muskie.

Back before they put the dam in the Sauk River, muskies could easily swim up into the chain of lakes from the Mississippi River. Muskies are native to the Mississippi, so one could argue they are native to the chain of lakes as well.

Did you even take a minute of your time to look at the studies? If not, take a look. Please don't tell me you were one of those kids that sat way in the back corner of the classroom...

[BrdHunter01]

Are genetically engineered muskie native to any lake? I didn't think so....

[DHanson]

Are genetically engineered walleye native to any lake? I didn't think so...

[pushbutton]

tune in tomorrow for the next episode of "as the muskie world turns"

[Rick G]

LMAO so what will the muskies eat? Only the redhorse? I doubt it....

As the Muskie chases down his next meal, he gets within striking distance, opens his mouth, and then stops.... O this is a walleye, I'm not going to eat that LOL. Get real, They will eat anything that comes between them and their next meal....

You are correct sir Muskies will indeed eat walleyes, crappies and even smaller muskies but walleyes will also eat small walleyes ,crappies and even small muskies when the opportunity presents itself and so on and so on. Oh and I dont think the cats that were stocked courtesy of the dnr are a nuisance infact I kinda like catching them they are a fun game fish and provide a unique angeling opportunity that brings people to the area that otherwise would not be fishing this body of water.

[AWH]

LMAO so what will the muskies eat? Only the redhorse? I doubt it....

[BrdHunter01]

And thats half the story.... Where's the other half?....

[AWH]

If there's more to the story, let's hear it. I'm not from the area and I'm not familiar with the chain at all. But a little research on my end is helping to educate me on what's been going on around there. So help educate the rest of us on some more facts.

Aaron