Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Muskie stocking, good or bad?

John Cross recently wrote an article about the possibility of a muskellunge stocking program in Lake Tetonka near Waterville.

This issue is bound to get more and more attention, and people on both sides of the issue will have plenty to say.

I've given this situation some thought, and I'm split on the possible stocking. On one hand, I like having another lake closer to me where I might catch a muskie — a feat that is on my list of fishing-to dos.

On the other hand, how will this predator fish affect the overall habitat of the fish already in the lake? A lot of people worry about the walleye populations in lakes, but if you do a simple Google search on what muskie eat, you'll come to learn that walleye aren't tops on a muskie's list of food (this doesn't mean walleyes won't be eaten, however).

Actually, muskies tend to like fish without sharp spines, so Lake Tetonka's abundance of white suckers seems ideal. But rather than worry about walleyes, those opposed to the toothsome predator should be more worried about the perch population in Tetonka, because even though perch have sharp spines, its bones are soft enough to make for a good muskie meal.

I honestly haven't fished Tetonka in a few years, and I rarely fish it for pan fish, so I'm not sure exactly what the population of perch in the lake is. According to the DNR fish sample survey for 2004 (yeah, unfortunately this is a bit outdated), the gill net for yellow perch was 6.5 and the trap net was .3.

Those numbers might not mean much, but when you consider that only rough fish have equal or higher numbers for gill nets, you come to realize perch have to be somewhat plentiful in the lake.

Anyhow, this is all just me digesting the information and puking it out in thought. I've done some research, and I suggest anyone with feelings about the potential stocking, one way or another, do some hardcore research.

I'll leave you with this last thought about the muskies impact on walleyes. In 1984, muskies were stocked into Lake Vermilion in St. Louis County. Today, trophy walleyes and muskies can be found in that lake. And the walleye population is ridiculous — 12.95 gill net/1.89 trap net, average weight 1.01 lbs.

Obviously the habitat is much different than a southern-Minnesota lake, but people with ties to Vermilion engaged in the same arguments that will arise at Tetonka, and along the Cannon River chain of lakes for that matter.