|
|
Posts: 192
Location: Quebec, Canada | I am fishing a kind of a big river system and I was wondering what are the basics of musky migration in bigger river systems. I find that most articles on this topic out there are usually related to lakes so it's a bit harder to apply the same info to bigger river systems.
Also, are the muskies going to go up smaller river systems crossing the bigger one for some reason? Any related info or link would be nice as i am trying to understand the whole process. Of course, spring info would relevant since this is where we are, but all seasons info would also be nice.
Edited by Drakl 4/13/2014 3:34 PM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 455
| Pretty big question. I would look for a book on the subject. I will say they will go up the smaller tributaries during high water periods or when the entering water is warmer during spring and fall. If they are trout streams cold water flowing in during summer will draw fish. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 718
| This is all theory but I believe that on the Detroit River specifically, a chunk of what would be consider 'St. Clair' fish will migrate down the Detroit River literally starting now (because we catch them incidentally all spring on walleye jigs and spinning rods in deep water) and end up using the large amount of spawning area in the river. I theorize that these 'river spawners' eventually filter back to St. Clair. Not all obviously, but alot head back to the lake it seems. I don't know if there is more food up there of what. In a cold spring/summer they linger in the river all summer I have found. The other migration is in the fall where they travel to find loads of gizzard shad. This is what I 'think' happens anyways. Hope this helps. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1276
Location: Hayward, Wisconsin | They don't get much bigger than the St. Lawrence River. Tracking studies in the upper river between NY and Ontario have shown that after spawning, about half of the muskies migrate out into Lake Ontario and return in the fall to the spawning grounds.
I doubt that the big river muskies spend much time going too far up the smaller rivers running into them, but they are certainly there at the river mouth in the spring in many places. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1529
| biologist for mnr ont. muskies return to where there born to spawn. late fall on st clair theres an east and west migration. I believe due to forage based shad... muskies time the migration to shad arrivals from l.huron.. as for sp;ecifics I have never seen a river study itself on muskies. truly puzzled on that . muskies bring millions into the sports angling,but little known in Ontario. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 192
Location: Quebec, Canada | Very interesting replies here, thanks guys. I think I'll try to find some books about this topic. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 295
| Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the Detroit river actually just a strait? If you're wondering about rivers and streams, the Great Lakes might not be the same animal. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 718
| You are correct. It is never called 'The Strait of Detroit' by too many anglers. It does have river habitat though including tons if spawning water, islands and inflowing creeks that attract the shad. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1529
| Detroit river is just that a river. theres shipping thru it from st clair river via st clair to Detroit r. and empties into l. erie. great all specie river..from 18ft deep to 49ft deep with a fairly fast current. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 295
| Thanks for the rundown. I didnt ask anything about it, and I didn't say I haven't fished it or know exactly where and what it is... It's a strait. So is the st. clair river, and the niagara river, and I could go on. What I was saying is that it might not have the same characteristics as a standard river system, and the fish might not migrate the same or for the same reasons either. It is however a fantastic fishery and I would recommend anyone within reach to go fish it ASAP. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 994
Location: Minnesota: where it's tough to be a sportsfan! | In a discussion about stocking the Minnesota River in Southern MN. The DNR brought up that a fishery could not be developed as the stocked fish would migrate "north" to Ole Miss, and once in there would not be seen again. "Just Sayin" |
|
| |
|
Posts: 267
| Here's one on the upper Mississippi:
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/publications/fisheries/investigational... |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1529
| well it cant be a straight. its crooked with lots of bends lol. honestly I live 1/2 mile from it ,first time I heard that calling a strait. great thought though on how things work underwater and all. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 295
| woodieb8 - 4/15/2014 6:34 PM
well it cant be a straight. its crooked with lots of bends lol. honestly I live 1/2 mile from it ,first time I heard that calling a strait. great thought though on how things work underwater and all.
I know... I live a couple miles from the niagara river and I get the same response from guys around here about it being a strait. What I really was getting at is that I don't believe fish act the same around the Great Lakes and the "rivers" connecting them as they do in typical river situations. Most of the time people are talking about fish migrating up a river from a lake or another bigger river where as we are fishing for fish that often will fall back into the "rivers" that we fish such as the fish from st clair going down "river" into the Detroit or down into the niagara from Lake Erie. Most any other question about river strategy could usually apply equally, but in this case it seems unlikely to me. Good luck on the opener over there, wish I could make it this year. I'll be there in the fall again for sure. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 54
Location: Minnesota | Fantastic topic. If some one has the answers please chime in cause I have a down right puzzler. The St. Louis River a tributary of Lake Superior. Having fished the Bay of Green Bay a couple years back and seeing some similarities which has me thinking how many of these fish end up out in Lake Superior. The MN Dnr last spring did the survey right after ice out with impressive numbers actually unbelievable numbers. I personally witnessed one hoop net which between sturgeon and musky you couldn't fit another fish. Come to the summer did they all stay or do some venture to the south shore to goard on trout? Now how about Dustin Carlson's tiger that looked like it choked down a 10# brown. My belief with the seasonal runs of smelt, suckers, shiners, eelpout why would a musky stick around and eat walleye and carp. I've seen muskies in the river with Lamprey marks but never seen a Lamprey in the river and I fished it for 20+ years. Last year I caught most of my fish out of the Bay Area which where all Great Lakes or Leech Lake strain the fish that where caught upstream where of the Wisconsin variety. Water temps? Water clarity? Current? Food?
Being this is my home water and have tried most all techniques with some success wirh none being the silver bullet it's still muskie fishing. I've only put two things together fish when you can and try to make every cast count. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1276
Location: Hayward, Wisconsin | LandBigFish: I know of a walleye guide that caught a 42 inch muskie 8 miles out in Lake Superior, so yes, it appears that at least some of the St. Louis River fish do what the muskies in the upper St. Lawrence River do. Dustin Carlson was of the opinion that that is where that big Tiger had been feeding.
There are also tributary streams along the south shore a LONG ways from the St. Louis River that have muskies and of course, the Bad River has always had Great Lakes strain muskies in it, along with the occasional one caught from Chequamegon Bay near Ashland. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 54
Location: Minnesota | Thank Larry. I've planned on trolling outside of the Superior entry and the south shore down to Amnicon river. Now it's just what time of year and how deep? It's legal to troll 3 lines a piece and with colder water temps think the speeds will be slower just need a couple guys and start raking the lake. Now I would only hope Drakl get his question answered!!! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1276
Location: Hayward, Wisconsin | River info:
Following spawning in shallow bays of the St. Lawrence, a portion of the adult muskellunge population makes an upstream migration to Eastern Lake Ontario. About one-half of 47 radio tagged fish moved upstream to the Cape Vincent-Eastern Lake Ontario region. Migrations of nearly 100 km have been observed (LaPan et al. 1996). Migration is speculated to promote dispersal and maximize foraging opportunities.
During early fall, adult muskellunge make large movements again and tend to congregate in well known fall fishing locations. In late fall and winter, muskellunge move to staging areas near their respective spawning areas (LaPan et al. 1996).
From: Update of the Strategic Plan for
Management of the St. Lawrence River
Muskellunge Population and Sportfishery
Phase III: 2003-2010
Prepared by
John M. Farrell
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Thousand Islands Biological Station
Department of Environmental and Forest Biology
Syracuse, New York 13210
Rodger Klindt
Bureau of Fisheries and Marine Resources
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Watertown, New York 13601
and
John M. Casselman
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Research, Science and Technology Branch
Glenora Fisheries Station
Picton, Ontario, Canada KOK 2TO
http://www.esf.edu/tibs/Documents/SLR%20Muskellunge%20Management%20...
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | Larry Ramsell - 4/16/2014 7:49 AM
There are also tributary streams along the south shore a LONG ways from the St. Louis River that have muskies and of course, the Bad River has always had Great Lakes strain muskies in it, along with the occasional one caught from Chequamegon Bay near Ashland.
I wish there were still some spots in Chequamegon Bay and the Bad, most pics of incidental and intentional catches that I've seen since netting started were lightly barred or clear, leading me to believe that the Gl strain has been wiped completely from existence on the South Shore. I'd love for someone to prove me wrong.
It also appears that the DNR stuck a lot of upper Chip fish in the Bad years ago (per LR research on the subject, posted on OFM in 2005) and judging by the pics I see that's what anglers are catching there these days.
I have seen pics and mounts of fish caught prior to netting from the Bay and Bad, some absolutely beautiful specimans. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 192
Location: Quebec, Canada | Thanks Larry for the info and source. I now have a lot of reading in my hands.
Edited by Drakl 4/17/2014 7:13 AM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 34
| I only think back to experiences on the Wisconsin River. They love the dams in early spring. It's also like they come up to there to eat at night. When the pike are doing their thing, along with the muskys....it's quite a sight to watch them jump up into Gilmore creek. |
|
| |
