Why do they keep putting muskies in our small lakes ?

[motley man]

Why does DNR keep putting Muskie's in our small lakes when they were never there before ? Our lakes are being ruined by this, Alexander, Shamineau, Fish Trap ! The walleye, northern are not growing to larger size because muskies eat the 2# fish. Slot limits on northerns to get trophy fish is not working, and the bass are pretty much gone in Shamineau. Sunfish are all stunted to silver dollar size. If they keep putting fish into lakes around the state that were never in them our fisheries will be ruined by putting freshwater sharks into them ! I know that they say it does not hurt the lakes, but those of us that have fished these lakes for 30 years or more have seen the difference they have made and it is not for the better!

[Deet]

You can't be serious...

[JBMasterAngler]

Early entry for "troll of the year" award?

Are you this angry about the hundreds upon hundreds of lakes (some of which you named already) that the DNR stocked non native walleyes into?

[Sculpin]

Motley Man. Please explain to us how the predator prey balance seems to work fine in multi species lakes like Leech, Winnie, Cass, and even the Mississippi River with muskies there forever. You think this is simply a "small lake" phenomenon ?

[laker1]

Only comment I will make,musky are not the problem if you have only small northern pike. The angler is over harvesting or you got a forage food problem. The musky should be helping create bigger northern pike.

[Trout26]

There are a lot of bass in shamineau along with walleye. Maybe you just don't know where to look

[fish_hunt_guy]

+1 Ive caught alot of pike and walleye in Shamineau and not a muskie to speak of even though I fish mostly for muskie

[motley man]

I knew I would get ^!*( on over this !!!!!

[Deet]

The decision to introduce muskie into Lake Vermilion was based in part on the abundance of tullibee and white sucker in the lake, species that are known to be preferred prey items for muskie. Research has shown that muskie prefer prey without sharp spines, such as tullibee and sucker. Perch have also been shown to be an important prey item, probably because they are small enough that their spines are not a factor and because they are found in stands of aquatic vegetation that muskie also inhabit. Walleye have not been known to be a major forage species for muskie, even in lakes with abundant walleye populations. Although muskie will certainly eat walleye occasionally, the numbers eaten are minor compared to other natural mortality and angler harvest.

A research project was recently conducted in Wisconsin that looked at the feed habits of muskie. Stomach contents were examined from 1,092 muskie captured in 34 Wisconsin lakes from July 1991 to October 1994. The muskie were captured throughout the open water season by trapnetting, electrofishing and angling. The muskie stomachs were flushed with water to disgorge the contents without injuring the fish. The captured muskie ranged in size from nine inches to 46 inches. Based on the number and size of consumed food items, yellow perch and white sucker were, by far, the most important fish species consumed by muskies. Only five walleye were found in the 1,092 muskie stomachs examined. Sunfish, crappie and various minnow species were eaten more frequently than walleye in the study lakes. Tullibee were not common in many of the study lakes and therefore were relatively unimportant as food items. However, previous research has shown that tullibee are important food items for muskie in lakes where they are abundant, such as Lake Vermilion. One interesting aspect of the study was that researchers found that muskies would feed on crayfish in lakes with a high population of rusty crayfish. Since the eastern portion of Lake Vermilion has a high population of rusty crayfish, it is likely that muskie there will also feed on crayfish, although probably not enough to decrease the rusty crayfish population.

It is important to understand that muskie and walleye have co-existed in many lakes across the northern United States and southern Canada for centuries. In fact many of the premier muskie lakes in the region are also excellent walleye lakes. This would not be possible if muskie decimated walleye populations as is sometimes suggested. The most important strategies for maintaining walleye populations are to protect habitat, preserve water quality and prevent over-harvest. If anyone has questions about muskie or other fish species in Lake Vermilion please feel free to call me at our Ely office.

Duane Williams,

Large Lake Specialist for Lake Vermilion Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources, Section of Fisheries

[searching4slabs]

Some great answers here. Plus they maintain size structure. Also because they are the best! Ever caught one? Its fun to just see one close by!

[ThunderLund78]

1. The DNR does not stock Muskie in Fish Trap. However a few do get in, probably as fry through the creek/marsh that connects to Alex. The ones that get in and don't get EATEN by Walleye, Northern or Bass seem like they do pretty well.

2. I have ZERO problem with them being there. I have no problem catching Northern, Walleye or Bass on Trap. That lake is chock-full of forage and can support the species that are in there, even the few muskies that sneak in and are lucky enough to survive to adulthood.

I can't speak as much for Alex and Sham as I spend most of my time on Trap. There are lots of times that I go out and don't catch fish, but that's mostly my fault, not the muskie

I will say that it's a true kick in the pants when you're throwing cranks for bass or walleye and a 50" ski follows your lure to the boat. In the last 6 years I've fished a lot on Fish Trap and have only seen 2 Muskies. One did bite and immediately broke me off. In that same time, I've caught hundreds of Pike, Walleye and Bass. A few times, I've tried to intentionally target Muskie and could not raise a fish--But, such is Muskie fishing.

There's simply no case study that shows Muskies running rampant and taking over a lake. If there is, tell me what lake, cuz I'm going Muskie fishing!

[jhinky]

over 30 year more has changed then just muskies being introduced.

-First is millfoil, the weed cover will stunt any fish. being a Small fish are perfect for hiding and eat bugs in weeds. biggest problem..... you will find lakes that have little to know weeds fish will be bigger faster, both having to grow so don't get ate, plus easy to find minnows if no weeds.

-second is pressure, with new technology fishing has had more impact then say 30 years ago.

-third is breeding structure, when people live on lakes they change the lake causing nesting area to change, water quality to change and so on.

-At best new year classes will just grow over the years, each lake has a year class that is majority in lake due to perfect breeding conditions. usually high water creates new structure for fish to spawn.

just my 2 cents.

[Moses2531]

I like to think having Muskies in lakes help with the all the little snake pike and help the size structure for them but from the research looks like they are not eating many small pike either? I feel like all the small pike is harder on a walleye population then Muskie..

[laker1]

Talk about change,studies of black crappie show they like undisturbed areas to spawn and the majority of spawning occurs in these areas. A very high percentage of our lakes have little or no undeveloped areas.

Fishing pressure and efficiency has increased while spawning habitat is almost gone from most lakes. It is a wonder we have some species of fish at all.

[jhinky]

so true, no more cattails, no bull rushes, hell most creeks don't flow in or out anymore.

[ozzie]

The only thing when stocking muskie in small lakes with no tulibee or whitefish is that the perch become the main forage like mentioned and it is also a main food source for walleye...as we have seen in Mille Lacs studies is that when the perch population is low the walleye will start to cannibalize more thus decreasing the population. I am by no means saying this is the issue in these stated lakes but to totally discount the posters original thought wouldn't be right.

[H2O Milfoil]

A few years ago, in early spring, I encountered a DNR crew that had a couple nice 49-50" female muskies in their nets. I chatted one of them up and he said they were waiting for the tanker truck full of male northern pike to show up. He said they milked the eggs and milt and that they were making hybrid silver muskies. Sterile fish. They stock them in a lot of lakes to help control an overabundance of small panfish. They only live a maximum of about 15 years with no reproduction, so it's a cost effective means of upgrading the fish structure in the lake over a finite time period.

So I guess you could check the DNR stocking records and see what has been stocked in the lakes in question.

[smallie_hawgin]

Alexander and Shamineau have routinely been stocked every-other-year with fingerling or yearling Musky in low amounts (between 200 and 600). The most recent netting efforts show no issues at all with other species in either of the lakes at all. Truthfully, since the inception of the Musky stocking there have actually been some notable improvements in walleye and northern pike in both basins. Musky are a component of these fisheries and they do tend (or can) to alter some of the other species' behavior. There has been some research to this end over he years. Just because you caught walleye on one spot 15 years ago, doesn't guarantee you will today. We have had many anglers tell us the contrary to what was initially stated about the fisheries in both lakes. Walleye fry are stocked in Alexander annually and there is documented survival many more times than we would typically see in naturally reproducing populations!! Walleye fingerings and fry have been stocked in Shamineau with excellent survival.

The DNR does periodic checks of the Musky populations in Alexander and Shamineau (every 4 years). The most recent estimates of adult Musky (greater than 30") are 406 for Alexander and 204 for Shamineau. While doing these assessments many of the other species of anglers pursuit are also captured, measured and returned to the lake. The walleye population of walleye, crappie, bass and sunfish are in no trouble what so ever in either of these basins.

There are always strong opinions (both for and against) about Musky in most lakes they have been introduced or have continuous stocking. If any negative trends in other species in these lakes are observed (based on netting results), the stocking rates can easily be reduced or curtailed. However, at this point there is no evidence to suggest even any concern.

Fish Trap Musky are very likely (almost guaranteed) there due to some escapement from Alexander. The population is very low. Again, there are no observed issues with any of the other game fish populations. Keep in mind, just because the DNR netting data may suggest one thing, angling results can vary considerably. The fish caught in nets aren't responding to a lure or bait, it is merely by proximity or travel routes. So the netting does not bias results nearly as much as angling results can. That said, there are times where they both coincide well.

Just a note for consideration: If there are specific questions regarding a particular fishery, please get in touch with the local fisheries manager. Often times you will find out more than you realize rather than making assumptions that may not be valid.

[laker1]

Shamineau has been one of lakes with the longest history of musky stocking in north central Minnesota,must date back 30 years or so.

[IronDioPriest]

The top walleye fisheries in MN are also muskie lakes. That is not a coincidence.

The misguided prejudice against muskies is largely fueled by ignorance and spread through gossip. They're big. They have sharp teeth. They're predators. Therefore every other species in the lake will suffer as a consequence of their presence. Sounds logical, except it's just plain wrong.