Shoepack strain/lake questions?
MuskyTime
Posted 4/25/2007 12:07 PM (#252764)
Subject: Shoepack strain/lake questions?




Posts: 331


Location: Stevens Point, Wisconsin		I have made a few trips back to Big and Little Shoepack lakes in the Voyagers National Park. I recommend it to anyone that likes an adventure that includes musky fishing and wilderness camping.

I do have a question or two in regards to the “Shoepack Strain” of muskies. Did they “Shoepack Strain” get their name from being stocked in just Big and Little Shoepack lakes? Were these lakes used as brood stock lakes for stocking other lakes? (Hard to believe they would use these remote lakes for brood stock?) Were these fish planted in other lakes at the same time but only the Shoepack fish became “stunted”? Do they still collect any fish “brood stock” from these lakes?

Just wondering? I often hear about this strain when other strains are mentioned in genetic topics and have always wondered if the fish were named after the lakes or for other reasons.

Nice little trip if you like catching muskie out of a canoe and camping under the stars. By the way there is a case of beer on the bottom of Big Shoepack….don’t ask!

Ed
VMS
Posted 4/25/2007 1:13 PM (#252786 - in reply to #252764)
Subject: Re: Shoepack strain/lake questions?





Posts: 3483


Location: Elk River, Minnesota		Good Afternoon,

The Shoepac strain of fish is essentially that...fish that came from the Shoepac lakes you mentioned. Years ago,fish from these waters were used for stocking purposes in various lakes in the state. I don't think they stocked many lakes from the Shoepac strain, but Baby Lake near Hackensack was one of them, and to this day, seems to show little improvement in fish size 20 some odd years after they stopped stocking it. The whole woman lake chain had very healthy populations of lech lake strain fish that were naturally occurring, and by introducing the shoepac strain, the fish just don't "seem" to grow as large and the other area lakes that did not receive shoepac stocking.

Currently, no stocking of Muskies is taking place there, so the genetics (I feel) are spread out throughout the system, and the fish, although being spotted like a leech lake strain, are roughly 32 - 38 inches in length. There are very few large ones to be found, and this lake contains a healthy forage of suckers and Ciscos. I don't have any data to back this up...only 27 years on the water fishing it and seeing the trends. In fact, I don't think there is any data that exists in muskie numbers for the lake based upon the stocking of the Shoepac strain fish.

Steve
MuskyTime
Posted 4/25/2007 2:00 PM (#252805 - in reply to #252764)
Subject: Re: Shoepack strain/lake questions?




Posts: 331


Location: Stevens Point, Wisconsin		Thanks for the info Steve!

Must have been a pain in the butt collecting and transporting fish out of there when stocking other lakes?
Guest
Posted 4/25/2007 7:39 PM (#252866 - in reply to #252805)
Subject: Re: Shoepack strain/lake questions?


Shoepac Muskies from the Shoepac lakes were considered at the time to be a natural occurring strain of Muskie in Mn. Brood stock fish were taken out and used to begin the strain of hatchery Shoepac fish to be used for stocking Mn. lakes. In the Waconia Lake Study it was shown that the Shoepac strain is a slow growing and stunted strain when compared to Leech Lake (Mississippi Strain) and the Wisc. strain of Muskies. Shoepac stocking ceased and the Leech Lake was then developed for Mn. stocking.