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| Does anyone think that there are muskies that live far out in the lake that just chase around schools of salmon or maybe even smelt. There could be muskies that just follow around all the food sources. No matter where they go. It would be nice to see someone thats trolling for salmon off of Chicago to catch a hog. Any thoughts???? |
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Posts: 1769
Location: Algonquin, ILL | There may be some out there but the population probably is not worth the effort,
However I'm sure that if some lucky Salmon fisherman ever hooks into one it will be a PIG
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Posts: 1270
| I always wondered the same thing about northern pike living out there yet other than in the harbors I've never heard of one benig caught out there and with all the trolling you would think someone would pick one up every once in a while even if they are rare and scattered.
I also have never heard of the commercial fishermen netting one out there and there nets are set where the whitefish and smelt are.
Wouldn't you think that Lake Michigan is to cold for muskys anyways. |
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| If they were out there, I do not believe they would be chasing salmon/trout or the small smelt. They would be chewing on whitefish and chubs. |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | Guest - 11/6/2007 12:03 PM
If they were out there, I do not believe they would be chasing salmon/trout or the small smelt. They would be chewing on whitefish and chubs.
Gobies, easiest prey in the lake. |
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Posts: 1086
| reelman - 11/6/2007 10:28 AM
Wouldn't you think that Lake Michigan is to cold for muskys anyways.
You beat me to it. I agree.
I'd think it'd be consistently too cold out off of shore for any muskie to stay out there too long. I'd think it'd be safe to say some may venture out a ways from shore for a short time...but not to live and cruise and dwell out there full-time. Their metabolism I don't think would like that too much. I'd think it's safe to say, near the shore, in shallower water that may warm to the likings of a muskie would be a safer bet, as well as in the ports/harbors.
Each fish has an ideal temp range in which they're most comfortable, not too hot, not too cold.... |
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Posts: 1270
| IIRC most of the time throughout summer the temps. down 30'-50' are in the low to mid 40's. |
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| reelman - 11/6/2007 11:49 AM
IIRC most of the time throughout summer the temps. down 30'-50' are in the low to mid 40's.
Actually, that is incorrect. SOME of the time when the lake flips it is like that. During July and August you will find quite often the temps rarely get below low to mid 50's.
The winds would move the musky around just like they do the salmon; both following water temps and bait fish. The only difference though would be when the warm water comes in and there are no kings in the warm water (yeah, right) there should be musky right there with them. Then again, the warm open waters do not sustain a viable population of bait fish as the in-shore warmer waters do.
But, it depends on who you know and who you talk to as far as salmon fishermen go as to if they ever hooked up with or caught a musky while salmon trolling.  It is not always what you know, but WHO you know that has the information you are looking for.
Fishing information is a lot like the military, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Unless you know who to ask, LOL. Then you had better hope they tell the truth. Or else you get the Sgt Shultz's of fishing, "I Know Nothing, I Know NOTHING!". |
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | Live out there full time? NO not live out there but for them to follow Alewives from Green Bay to the west coast of Michigan? Yep and it seems to be happening more than I would expect. The forage that they are going to chase around is in and out of the ports and not living in the middle of the lake. |
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| Look at buffalo harbor and lake erie...lots of those fish stay in the lake and migrate in the fall... |
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Posts: 1270
| Isn't Lake Erie much warmer than Lake Michigan, much like Green Bay is warmer than Lake Michigan? |
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| Much shallower and warmer lake than Lake Michigan BenR. Lake Michigan is over 900' deep at its deepest. Much cooler than Erie but not the ice box of Superior. It drops off pretty quick too in the area of where the musky would be calling "home". Good point though on musky being open water fish. Just under certain conditions and in certain situations. |
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Location: Green Bay, WI | Great thread...interesting stuff.
Larry Jones tells me that in the summer, the muskies in Lake Eerie can be gone for months, into deeper water. I haven't asked him about it in a while but IIRC, he told me it was thought that they would use 75+ feet of water regularly. Obviously Lake Eerie and Lake Michigan are different (as has been mentioned here), but I would not be at all surprised if a person couldn't find muskies in 100 feet of water around parts of the shoreline, or just out into Lake Michigan. But as for 200, 300, 400+ feet of water...? I don't know about that.
In Becker's Fishes of Wisconsin (p406), he states that CW Greene reported (1935) that the distribution of muskellunge includes Green Bay itself, and most of the Lake Michigan shoreline. One would assume this was near shoreline, but still...not where you might expect muskies to roam.
Still, I agree that if there were muskies out in Lake Michigan in any significant quantity, you would think that somebody would be catching something while salmon/trout fishing.
TB
Edited by tcbetka 11/6/2007 2:13 PM
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| aren't there other considerations than only food that are likely to determine where any fish (including muskies) choose to spend their time living?
as a broad generalization, don't certain kinds of fish prefer deep, cold, open-water cruising (such as the pelagic imports to the Great Lakes), whereas other kinds of fish (native, in-land species?) prefer relatively shallow areas with access to structure, warmer water, etc.??? (by "deep" i mean truly deep, 100s of feet deep and far off-shore; by "shallow" i mean relatively near shore depths.)
and aren't these kinds of behavioral preferences genetically linked for survival? essentially pre-determined by species such that the likelihood of some "lone wolf" behaving differently than the rest of the species is very very low?
ie., there's plenty of food in a grocery store, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good place to live.
perhaps a biologist will weigh in on this one to help out us "arm-chair quarterbacks"?
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | lambeau - Historically, they are a species that thrived in the drowned rivermouths all along Lakes Michigan and Huron. We still have some remnant populations here on the Michigan coasts of those lakes. However, the fish that have been caught by salmon and walleye anglers over the past few years were not from these remnant populations but were actually Green Bay (Fox planters). These fish had travelled out of GB and across Lake Michigan, we're talking 100-200 mile trips from where they were stocked. To support what everyone is thinking, these fish are not caught out in the lake by the hordes of boats chasing salmonids but they are caught close to shore where alewives, drum and shad are abundant. As you mention they are not an pelagic or anadromous fish but they do wander with regularity. They'll cross the "open water" but probably not spend much time feeding out there, the same is observed in Georgian Bay. |
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Posts: 4
| Exactly what Will said is happening. But, I will add to this and say I believe that some hatchery raised fish within a group or year class will tend to stray more than any wild or naturalized fish of all kinds of species. I don't believe its happening enough or that there are enough fish in the Lake Michigan system straying around to begin any type of localized muskie population on their own, something fishable you know. But, they ARE out there. I have found that once they find a spot they like with forage, the only reason to leave really is to spawn over chara. Makes me wonder.....some muskies, theoretically, do not ever spawn (williamson fish). Could these be the ones that are more likely to stray and grow huge feeding all the time, never using up calories to produce eggs or just re-absorb them if they do get fat with eggs and ironically will never propagate?
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Posts: 3242
Location: Racine, Wi | I can't wait till I find one down off of Racine. There's some really good structure down this way, so if they are staying inland so to speak, I know where they'll be feeding.  Will, you're right on the baitfish. We see the shad in the fall that are HUGE up on the breakwall rocks. I always thought they'd be good musky (and huge pike) food. We do well on the pike down here, and it's just a matter of time until we score some slime.
When I'm trolling the Big Pond for salmon, I'm usually in what would be considered shallow water, so I think I'll start running some Legends along with the flashers and spoons. |
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| Secondhand I have heard of a couple of big ones caught out of Sheboygan and Manitowoc. I have also heard of some decent fish seen in the harbors.
One of the charters (take this with a grain of salt, all secondhand) supposedly boated a 54" last year. He liked to fish musky. Saw some big hooks hanging off some salmon and decided to run some cranks past them, ended up with a nice musky.
As much as I would like to get a big girl like that, I just can't put in the time it would take to figure out that water and get on some fish. |
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Posts: 1106
Location: Muskegon Michigan | My opinion is this, The biggest Muskies in Lake Michigan will be eating Whitefish and Lake trout which are the greasiest fish out there. If you want a shot at A huge Lake Michigan Female there are several times when they will concentrate. One is during the spawn when they will come into the drowned river mouths ahead of or with arriving schools of Trout, Suckers, Walleye and Pike. This early spring migration takes place before many inland waters seasons are open and many times when Ice is still on the inland lakes. There can be windows with open water that allow access to the big lake and a chance at trolling these Drowned rivermouths around channel heads and open water troughs and or reefs in Lake Michigan. The chances of hitting a big Musky in Lake michigan are at their highest at this time but still very hard to find one. Once the trout,Walleye and suckers have dropped back the open water roamers will also be gone ,their spawnning over with and they will go back to where ever they spend the rest of their year.
There is another time in early Fall and very late fall when the salmon run and the Whitefish come in to spawn. Muskegon Channel heads are lined with guys fishing Whitefish every December and I have to believe there are a few Big Muskies taking advantage of this migration of greasy forage. I plan on at least two days this year if ice conditions permit of trolling around the west end of Muskegon Lake and the pier heads and Hamiltons reef looking for miss Piggy. I think that knowing where forage will concentrate and fishing at those times will increase your odds of finding one of these open water Muskies from Lake Michigan. The Whitefish move in every night and move back out to deeper water during the day. My plan is to troll the Points that stick out into Lake Michigan(breakwalls) before dark as I believe the Muskies will arrive prior to the Whitefish setting up on whitefish migration routes. During the morning I will concentrate on the areas between deep water and the Breakwalls intercepting them as they follow the Whitefish back out. Casting the breakwalls could also be very effictive and will get some time providing I am not fighting with fishermen on the walls.
Several Salmon Charterboat captains here in Muskegon have taken and (killed)unfortunately some pretty nice Muskies in the Channel area during fall Salmon runs. Most of the time they are caught on J-PLUGS. A walleye fisherman killed a 44 incher last spring during the walleye run in April in the Channel in Lake Michigan. Spring and Fall seem to me to be the best times to try if you really want to spend the time. Good luck, Kingfisher
Edited by Kingfisher 11/8/2007 5:49 PM
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Location: Green Bay, WI | Wow, I did not realize how long Michigan's musky season was! Open all year long in the waters of the Great Lakes!
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/general-hook-line-regs_151604_7.p...
It would take a REAL die-hard muskie guy to be fishing out the in January, February or March...lol.
TB |
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| I have heard reports of fish being chaught in waukgen at the hot water discarge I have not seen one just heard of it take it as you will just a few weeks ago some women got a 6+ pound walleye from IL on the big pond from what I hear that is the largest walleye from the lake to date so if there in there there is no reason a few muskies have not made the trip aswell or so Id like to think |
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Posts: 3907
| I once ran across a couple very old photos of monster pike caught, I was told, in nets of commercial fishers on Lake Superior. Amazing big fish. |
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Location: Green Bay, WI | I was told by a guy from Duluth that bought my Alumacraft Tournament Pro 185 a few years back, that there were some huge northerns around the Apostle Islands. I always wanted to fish there, but never got the time when I lived in NW Wisconsin. But when I think of HUGE pike, I think of European pike--big, fat & with a major attitude.
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lake mich