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Posts: 462
Location: Syracuse, Indiana | http://goshennews.com/localsports/x694484679/OUTDOOR-COLUMN-A-lesson-learned-at-Webster-Lake I would like to think the lesson was learned, but looking at history ... |
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Posts: 1080
| History always has a strange way of repeating itself...and...someone else always knows better. That lake has been in bad shape for the past two years...ecologically speaking. Not only did the Sonar chemical kill off all the weeds...it killed off all of the Zebra mussels as well. Which...there's a Pros and a Cons list to having Zebra Mussels in any body of water, which...overall...they're a major Con to have in a body of water. However, one of the Pros to having them in the water, is they help filter and clean the water, which helps water clarity, which helps sunlight to penetrate the water to allow for better weed growth. Granted..it's a fine, fine balancing act of how to manage all of that. |
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Posts: 20219
Location: oswego, il | Had a lake resident in june tell me there were no more zebras in his channel. He said it has been a long time since he could be barefoot in the water. The water quality is horrible. I bet if they tested the water like they do on lake michigan they would have to close the public beach. |
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Posts: 78
| I uesd to fish Webster all the time. It was at or near the top of the list. Now it's at or near the bottom of my list. There are alot better options now that the other waters in the area have matured as musky fisheries. Webster Lake? Definately a sad situation! |
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Posts: 50
Location: Hobart, Indiana | I now that the weeds were growing there but i'm sorry isn't that a good thing? Fish need cover for numerous reasons. If you kill the weeds then you kill the fish too. To bad that the skiers need to go fast and they have to deal with a lil bit of weed on their skis. I buy a license to fish these waters. Do they have to buy a license to ski? Yet the state kills the weeds for them. NICE!!!! |
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Posts: 133
Location: South Bend, Indiana | How many lakes in Indiana have musky in them VS. How many lakes in Indiana skiing and tubing is allowed..... You do the math.... |
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Posts: 1080
| For the past two years, when we've been pulling our piers and boat lifts out of Webster at the end of the season, the piers and lifts have been free of all Zebra mussels. Clean as a whistle. Two years ago...October of 2010...I was SHOCKED when we started pulling the gear at the end of the season that we didn't need our big, leather work gloves to handle that equipment when it normally would all be encrusted with Zebra Mussels...you didn't dare handle that stuff with bare hands or you'd be sliced open in no time.
The thing with killing off the weeds....hurts the lakes for a few seasons....but with as many boats that come and go and are transplanted from lake to lake to lake all the time, it's only a matter of time till the Zebra Mussels and the Milfoil makes their way back into Webster. The vast majority of boaters, just simply do not care about watching their boats, trailers and livewells when going from lake to lake. A lot of times...boats are lake-hopped in a single day from one lake with the Zebra Mussels and Milfoil in it to a lake without...giving the boat/trailer/livewell no time for sufficient drying and or cleaning.
I have noticed a significant change on Webster to the amount of fishermen...especially lack of musky fishermen. Heck...you can even find plenty of parking at the Backwater launch at all hours of the day on the weekends now. Back when things were good...if you weren't parked and launched there before sunrise on the weekends...forget it. Now...there's no problems. Which is a huge indicator as to the lack of fishing taking place on Webster.
Edited by MACK 7/10/2012 3:39 PM
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Posts: 1080
| ToddM - 7/10/2012 1:36 PM
The water quality is horrible. I bet if they tested the water like they do on lake michigan they would have to close the public beach.
I would be very afraid to know the results of the water testing on Webster, if there is any water testing taking place. For the past two years I've been very hesitant having my kids swim in the lake with the amount of chemicals in that water and with how bad things are now. Our kids have very sensitive skin. I've kind of been biting my tongue to let them go in...but....so far...so good....knock-on-wood...they haven't broken out in any huge rashes yet...and haven't grown any third eyes or two heads yet...  |
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| musky fishing on webster lake during the month of june was probably as good as it has ever been . please , tell every one the fishing is no good there anymore . thanks ! |
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Posts: 489
| Weed kill on the lakes have been going on for sometime. Even back a few years ago when area lakes were producing very well. Lakes run their cycles. They will get hot again unless they are just not hungry due to all the shad they have mowed on! |
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| Adaptation EQUALS success on ol' Webby---that has ALWAYS been the case. The fish are not gone---surely they've changed some of their old habits-----but they still get caught on every lure imaginable. The weed issue has been debated FOREVER on Webster-----the fact remains that the waters needed some help--- several big fish came out of there last year-----so NEVER FEAR all you doubters who believe that the fishery has been destroyed. That is FAR from the truth-----keep pluggin away on Webster and---sooner or later----you'll be rewarded---BIG TIME!----Good luck--Jobu |
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Posts: 20219
Location: oswego, il | Jobu, i dont think anyone believes the fishery is destroyed but you are right about needing to change tactics as the lake is quite different now. You are also right the fish are still there. Gone for now are the days of seeing tons of fish and putting big numbers in the boat. The pressurr is waaaaaay down i have seen the ramp empty on prime weekends. I suspect that has played into letting some of these fish getting bigger too. Not the same lake it was for sure. |
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| Hey there Todd-----there's alot of negativity-----from both camps about the weed issues regarding Webster----- you can't deny that. I never knew that an empty ramp during prime time hours------was a BAD thing. When I started fishing there----there were plenty of empty ramp days. But----to place all the blame on the weed spray issue----is like putting all your eggs in one basket. There are still many people fishing----and more importantly CATCHING FISH -----on Webster, even with the herbicide treatments. In my honest opinion, there may be other factors as to why the fishing has gotten tougher on that body of water-----fishing pressure, recreational traffic, and just a change in tactics may be all that is necessary to regain success on Webby. I agree that the "dark water" is harder to fish-----but I don't think it makes it any less productive. If people want to stay away----THANK YOU------more corn fed monsters for me to catch------Good luck out there-----Jobu |
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Posts: 170
Location: Valparaiso , Indiana | There definitely is a problem with the weeds and water color in Webster but the fishing is still great! The guys that are telling us Webster sucks are the ones who haven't fished it in a while or even years.
“I haven’t been to Webster in two years,” said muskie guide Randy Bush of Churubusco. “I used to be able to guarantee someone a shot at a muskie, but now, when clients want to go there, I steer them to other lakes due to the situation.”
It's not just Randy. I hear it from everybody! The truth is the muskies are still there and still have to eat and are still being caught. The problem is most are still fishing the same way they've fished Webster for years and not catching or seeing fish.True you don't get 50 follows a day like before but when the feeding windows open up they are very intense. Jobu hit the nail on the head when he said "Adaptation EQUALS success on ol' Webby". I know guys who have 10 fish days on Webster this year with half of them over 40 inches! I would argue Webster has been the best Indiana musky lake this year! Webster is Alive and WELL even if the water does look like crap! I do like that nobody is fishing it! More fish for the ones that are! A few Webster fish from this year.
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Posts: 170
Location: Valparaiso , Indiana | Also DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife biologists collected a record-matching 1.9 million eggs from adult female muskies at Lake Webster this year. Heres the whole article.
Indiana’s muskie stocking program is off to a good start this year after DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife biologists collected a record-matching 1.9 million eggs from adult female muskies at Lake Webster.
The eggs were fertilized with milt from male muskies and will be used to produce approximately 24,000 fingerlings for stocking 15 Indiana lakes and reservoirs.
Warm temperatures forced biologists to start the egg-taking operation two weeks early.
“We normally begin trapping muskies in Lake Webster around April 1, when the water temperature is 40 degrees,” said Jed Pearson, DNR fisheries biologist. “This year we had 60-degree water temperatures in mid-March.”
To capture adult muskies, biologists set large fish traps at nine locations from March 20 through March 26. They caught 143 muskies, including 69 female muskies.
Although most of the muskies were 36 to 40 inches long, the largest measured 45.5 inches.
The number of eggs taken this spring matches a record set in 2011.
Muskie eggs are hatched at the East Fork State Fish Hatchery in southwest Indiana. After hatching, the fry and small fingerlings are fed pellet-food and minnows before stocking in the fall.
Muskies, a large predatory fish, were native in Indiana only in small tributaries of the Ohio River. The DNR, in response to angler interest, began stocking muskies in various waters, including Lake Webster, in the 1970s and 1980s. At that time, muskie eggs and fry were obtained from out-of-state sources.
Since the late 1990s, Lake Webster has served as Indiana’s brood stock for muskie eggs. All muskies now stocked in the state originate from adults captured at the lake.
Although biologists think some muskies may be spawning directly in Lake Webster, the DNR continues to stock about 3,800 fingerlings each fall to maintain the muskie population there.
“Due to natural conditions and the vulnerability of small muskies to other fish predators, Indiana anglers would have few opportunities to fish for muskies without the stocking program,” Pearson said.
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Posts: 613
Location: Michigan | Webster still has tons of fish in it and those fish still have to eat. Heck, during most of the year the fish don't even use the weeds as they are following the schools of shad around. Look at the results from the Indiana Musky Classic from this past year; 14 fish from Webby with only 8 from Tippy and Barbee. I actually like the dirty water as it helps the predator fish feed. One probably won't get as many follows, but you get a couple eaters. |
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