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Posts: 56
Location: Stanley, WI | The Wisconsin DNR is holding a public comment meeting on March 23, 2016 at 6:00 PM in the Crandon High School Auditorium to discuss their plan to introduce Muskellunge into Lake Metonga next fall. There has been quite a bit of opposition to this plan, but there are also many that support this plan. Regardless of how you feel about this proposal, I encourage you to attend if you have any interest in the management of this fishery. |
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Posts: 1134
Location: NorthCentral WI | matt_steinbach - 3/16/2016 6:58 AM
There has been quite a bit of opposition to this plan
That's an understatement... lol. Although I believe it would be a great musky lake with trophy potential, I can't see this happening.
Edited by MartinTD 3/21/2016 10:18 AM
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Posts: 1168
| I agree that it has ridiculous potential but in all honesty I'm lukewarm on the idea simply because my understanding is that Metonga has never had muskies in it. Perhaps it did but they were never a significant part of the system. Introducing what amounts to a non-native species into a system makes me hesitant to jump on board with this idea. |
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Posts: 300
Location: Minocqua, WI | Personally I'd much rather see improved boat landings and less zebra mussels before stocking a few muskies. It's already got one of the best perch, smallmouth, and pike fisheries anywhere..... plus one heck of a zebra infestation. The opposition should concentrate their efforts and anger on AIS prevention so the lake's junk doesn't end up elsewhere. I bass fish it a few times each year and I haven't yet seen anyone (nor individual boat operators themselves) checking and cleaning boats/hulls/livewells to make sure mussels aren't going for a ride. Priorities are elsewhere..... |
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Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | ^ Why does it have to be one or the other? |
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Posts: 1134
Location: NorthCentral WI | Be careful if you're attending the meeting tonight. If you have anything on your vehicle identifying yourself as a musky angler I would not be surprised if it was vandalized. Seriously, people in Crandon are a different breed.
I'll pass, not worth the fight IMO.
Edited by MartinTD 3/23/2016 10:57 AM
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| The responsibility for AIS prevention falls on each user. I volunteer to check boats on the chain where I live, and spend a number of hours at the public landing each year. But, there is only so much volunteers can do. We give people information, ask a few questions about where they have been, etc. But, that is about the extent of our ability to impact AIS prevention.
A good example is last June. I was on the lake fishing with my nephew early on a Saturday morning. We saw there were a number of boats idling near the boat launch, each with one angler. After a while, they all took off and we guessed they were having some sort of private tourney, everyone fishing by themselves. I waved to the volunteer as we fished passed the landing a little later.
The next week I saw the guy who had been at the landing and asked if they had said what was going on. He replied he had been about ten minutes late getting there and only one boat had not put in. He said the guy had his guide service listed on his truck and so it surprised him when he went to introduce himself that the guy swore at him and said what a crap job we (volunteers) did and would not talk to him. The volunteer is a retired business man and one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He would not tell me the guides name because he didn't want to cause any trouble.
Oh, and the guide cited a Crescent Lake in Oneida county as being a good example of AIS prevention (they have paid staff). A few weeks later it was in the news that Crescent had AIS.
A few years ago another guide refused to talk with the volunteer (elderly gentleman) my wife and I were relieving at the landing. The volunteer said the guy told him he "didn't have time for that s---." I then watched as the "guide" took over ten minutes and at least 6 tries to launch his Ranger. At one point the boat was parallel to shore. The camera function was broken on my phone but I pretended to take photos of his fails. Finally, his buddy/client took over and launched the boat. Not sure why a guy with the name of his guide service on his truck would be rude to volunteers but that was the case. |
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Posts: 285
Location: NE Wisconsin | I live 6 miles from Metonga. It is ground zero for invasive species in Northern Wisconsin. It was the first to be infested with rusty crayfish, the first to get zebra mussels, the first to get spiny water fleas and it also has Eurasian Milfoil. BUT, the fishing has never been better. They boast over 12,000 mature walleye an perch fishing is great. And a trophy small mouth bass fishery.
I blame the perch fishery for most of the invasive species. A when the perch fishery collapsed on Green Bay, many of these anglers came to Metonga. They used crab tails for perch, just like on the Bay and here came the rustics. Some had their boats on Green Bay during the week and on Metonga on weekends and here came zebra mussels and spines water fleas. |
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Posts: 285
Location: NE Wisconsin | I will be there to speak for the proposal. The local paper is loaded with so many false statements, I feel someone has to be there to speak the truth. |
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| Please let us know the outcome Johnnie |
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Posts: 300
Location: Minocqua, WI | Saw this on lake-link though I'm not sure of it's accuracy..... According to a poster on Lake-Link who was at the meeting, the stockings aren't going to happen due to a 90% opposition to the plan. Due to overwhelming opposition to the plan (>90%), Greg Matzke said the DNR will not be planting muskies into the lake. |
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Posts: 146
Location: Shawano, Wi | I think they should plant muskies into the lake. I've fished this lake for 20 years since I was 4. This lake would eventually become one of the best muskie lakes in Wisconsin given the chance! |
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