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Posts: 1291
Location: Hayward, Wisconsin | From The Fishing Wire.com:
"Vermont Stocks Muskellunge Fingerlings in Lake Champlain
| August 26, 2015
SWANTON, VT – Vermont Fish & Wildlife stocked over 5,000 muskellunge fingerlings in the Missisquoi River and Missisqoui Bay in Swanton on Tuesday, August 25, as part of the Department's ongoing Lake Champlain muskellunge restoration initiative.
"Muskie are native to Lake Champlain and once played an important role as the top predatory species in the lake," said Shawn Good, fisheries biologist with Vermont Fish & Wildlife, who's spearheading the project. "It's really exciting to be part of the effort to bring this fish back to the lake, not only for its important role in the lake's aquatic ecosystem, but also for the fishing opportunities it will provide in the future for Vermont anglers."
Muskellunge can grow to be one of the largest freshwater gamefish in the country, often exceeding 50 inches in length and 50 pounds in weight. However, Good says that it's their aggressiveness that really makes muskie such a desirable sportfish.
"Muskies hold a special place in the hearts of anglers who've caught one," said Good. "Often, catching just their first muskie ever is enough to turn someone into a lifelong muskie addict!"
Muskie are fabled for their vicious strikes and powerful runs during battle, and the species has a tendency to leap acrobatically out of the water during a fight.
"Imagine having a 30 or 40 pound smallmouth bass on the end of your line," said Good. "That's what it's like to hook a muskie."
Muskellunge are one of four species of esocids (pike family) native to Vermont along with northern pike, chain pickerel and redfin pickerel. Lake Champlain and its tributaries are the only locations in New England that historically supported natural muskellunge populations.
Although the native Lake Champlain muskie population was once widespread, it began to decline in the 1970's, and is thought to have been extirpated completely from the lake following a paper mill spill in the Missisquoi River in the late 1970's.
"This week's stocking effort is another step toward returning this great species to Lake Champlain, and the Missisquoi River," Good said.
Vermont Fish & Wildlife has been conducting annual muskie stocking activities since 2008, and have released over 38,000 muskie into the lake since then.
The six-inch long muskie fingerlings, which will be stocked on Tuesday at multiple locations throughout the Missisquoi River and Missisquoi Bay, are being provided through a cooperative effort by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. The fish are raised at NYDEC's Prendergast Hatchery on Chautauqua Lake in western New York.
To learn more about Vermont's fisheries management programs and fishing in Vermont, visithttp://www.vtfishandwildlife.com.
Media Contact: Shawn Good, 802-770-8780 - See more at: http://www.thefishingwire.com/story/354994#sthash.NmlB1Cgj.dpuf" |
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Location: Sawyer County, WI | "Imagine having a 30 or 40 pound smallmouth bass on the end of your line," said Good. "That's what it's like to hook a muskie."
We must have some really wimpy musky in WI and MN, because I don't believe I've caught one that fought like a 15 pound smallie let alone a 40 pounder.
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Posts: 1291
Location: Hayward, Wisconsin | Or, you have never caught a BIG river muskie! |
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Location: Sawyer County, WI | You have me there Larry. I guess I need to start doing some river fishing. |
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Posts: 760
| Pound for pound the smallmouth bass is the best fighting fish in freshwater? NO WAY. In my opinion its the Chinook Salmon. Tie a smallmouth to a king the same size, tail to tail, and the king would drown the bass. Wimpy muskies? Nah, when you use 80-100 pound braid, rods that you can use as a crow bar, and reels that you can mount on the front of your pickup, I don't think any musky would fight well. Kdawg |
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Location: oswego, il | Good to see, I hope the fingerlings at 6" do have a good survival rate.
Edited by ToddM 8/26/2015 9:53 AM
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Location: Smith Creek | kdawg - 8/26/2015 9:44 AM
Pound for pound the smallmouth bass is the best fighting fish in freshwater? NO WAY. In my opinion its the Chinook Salmon. Tie a smallmouth to a king the same size, tail to tail, and the king would drown the bass.
Have you ever seen or caught a 2-3 lb Chinook? They fight like a dead bullhead at that size.
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Posts: 1828
| Sorry to stay off topic, but it would be a really neat study to compare which fish actually does fight the hardest, pound-for-pound.
I do think we underrate the muskies' fight sometimes because we're using such heavy tackle. Even when you hook a really big bass on your muskie stuff, you know it's a small fish right away. |
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| Water temp is a huge factor in a muskie fight. Much stronger and more stamina at mid to high 60's than mid 70's plus. |
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Posts: 386
| It's good to hear that the water quality is back to a point where there is some confidence the musky population can be reintroduced. |
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Posts: 760
| Flambeauski - 8/26/2015 10:05 AM
kdawg - 8/26/2015 9:44 AM
Pound for pound the smallmouth bass is the best fighting fish in freshwater? NO WAY. In my opinion its the Chinook Salmon. Tie a smallmouth to a king the same size, tail to tail, and the king would drown the bass.
Have you ever seen or caught a 2-3 lb Chinook? They fight like a dead bullhead at that size.
Nope, can't say that I have. But did you ever have a smallmouth "Spool" you on one of there runs? |
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Posts: 120
| Surly as Smallies may be, Bowfin are the true pound for pound fightin' champs IMHO. |
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Location: Naperville, IL | We are so heavily over geared for the fish we go for, there is not much out there in the waters that is going to give our set ups much of a struggle. |
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Location: Smith Creek | kdawg - 8/26/2015 11:41 AM
Flambeauski - 8/26/2015 10:05 AM
kdawg - 8/26/2015 9:44 AM
Pound for pound the smallmouth bass is the best fighting fish in freshwater? NO WAY. In my opinion its the Chinook Salmon. Tie a smallmouth to a king the same size, tail to tail, and the king would drown the bass.
Have you ever seen or caught a 2-3 lb Chinook? They fight like a dead bullhead at that size.
Nope, can't say that I have. But did you ever have a smallmouth "Spool" you on one of there runs?
Never. But I thought we were talking same size.
Sturgeon will whoop them all. Even a bowfin on meth. |
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Posts: 760
| My apologies to Larry for changing the topic on his post. Kudos to any state that will improve on there musky fishery. Yep, I will still go tail to tail with a smallmouth and king the same size. I am not a scientist or biologist but the day a king hatches from its egg, it is programmed to swim and eat. It truly is the genetic freak of freshwater. It grows to 30lbs to forty pounds in the great lakes to over 70 -80lbs, out west, all in only 4 years. The perfect swimming and eating machine of freshwater, 24-7. Kdawg |
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Posts: 120
| Flambeauski - 8/26/2015 1:07 PM
kdawg - 8/26/2015 11:41 AM
Flambeauski - 8/26/2015 10:05 AM
kdawg - 8/26/2015 9:44 AM
Pound for pound the smallmouth bass is the best fighting fish in freshwater? NO WAY. In my opinion its the Chinook Salmon. Tie a smallmouth to a king the same size, tail to tail, and the king would drown the bass.
Have you ever seen or caught a 2-3 lb Chinook? They fight like a dead bullhead at that size.
Nope, can't say that I have. But did you ever have a smallmouth "Spool" you on one of there runs?
Never. But I thought we were talking same size.
Sturgeon will whoop them all. Even a bowfin on meth.
True. Very true. When you're terrified to take a hand off the fore grip to reach for the reel handle and keep telling your self "fight with your legs not your back!" you know you're in a battle! |
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Posts: 2015
| kdawg - 8/26/2015 1:26 PM
My apologies to Larry for changing the topic on his post. Kudos to any state that will improve on there musky fishery. Yep, I will still go tail to tail with a smallmouth and king the same size. I am not a scientist or biologist but the day a king hatches from its egg, it is programmed to swim and eat. It truly is the genetic freak of freshwater. It grows to 30lbs to forty pounds in the great lakes to over 70 -80lbs, out west, all in only 4 years. The perfect swimming and eating machine of freshwater, 24-7. Kdawg
Ah..the only way they grow to 70-80lbs is to live in the ocean and return to freshwater to spawn..not exactly a "freshwater fish" at that point? King salmon are a poor fighter as far as saltwater species are concerned.
Edited by IAJustin 8/26/2015 3:19 PM
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Location: 15 miles east of Lake Kinkaid | I agree with Justin. King Salmon are saltwater fish, but don't hold a candle to most species of jacks, tunas, or any pelagic blue water species. |
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| I was comparing the King salmon to a smallmouth. Kdawg |
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| I have never heard of a smallie taking and hour to reel in on light tackle. |
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Location: Smith Creek | kdawg - 8/30/2015 11:50 AM
I was comparing the King salmon to a smallmouth. Kdawg
You were comparing a big king salmon to a smallmouth.
Having caught both a juvenile king salmon (2-3 lbs) AND a smallie of the same weight, I can tell you that the smallie fights harder. And it isn't even close. |
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Location: Smith Creek | Back to the original topic, they still shooting esox on Champlain? I would imagine quite a few muskies would meet their demise that way.
http://www.apnmag.com/spring_2005/vermontpikeshooting.htm |
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Location: new richmond, wi. & isle, mn | Cr... You suppose they have lessons at Vermont's hunter's safety on pond swatting fish with a rifle. |
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Location: Smith Creek | I wonder if the armed shorons can positively identify a pike and musky before they unload their .22 AR's on it. |
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Location: new richmond, wi. & isle, mn | How many of those shorons actually attempt to retrieve their fish? |
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| Flambeauski, I guess we can agree to disagree on that one. I've caught channel cats on smallmouth spinning gear that fought better than the bass. And yes sir, even carp fought better!! To each his own. kdawg |
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Posts: 239
Location: Madison, WI | Snagged a 100 lb paddlefish with a medussa a month ago... I fealt quite out matched haha |
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Lake Champlain muskies