if you had to guess..
muskieman6
Posted 7/30/2014 9:40 AM (#723281)
Subject: if you had to guess..




Posts: 91


Location: Metro , Mille Lacs, and G. Rapids
If you had to guess how many muskies are in any given lake what would you say? 1000+? 3000+? More or less?
Shep
Posted 7/30/2014 10:53 AM (#723307 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: RE: if you had to guess..





Posts: 5874


More or less.
teddy b
Posted 7/30/2014 11:02 AM (#723312 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..




Posts: 158


I'll say.....less.
Muskers
Posted 7/30/2014 11:07 AM (#723315 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..




Posts: 325


Location: Otsego, MN
Totally dependent on size of water...
KenK
Posted 7/30/2014 11:10 AM (#723318 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..





Posts: 574


Location: Elk Grove Village, IL & Phillips, WI
10 acres, 100 acres, 1000 acres, 10000 acres, 100,000 acres? Very dependent on the size of the lake.
FAT-SKI
Posted 7/30/2014 11:19 AM (#723321 - in reply to #723315)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..




Posts: 1360


Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished
Don't think of the overall number of fish in a body of water. You have to try and think of how many per acre.... So like Lake Minnetonka for example I believe is like .80 fish per acre. Where as a lake like St Claire is something crazy like 1.7 fish per acre or whatever. I could be wrong on both. But any lake that has a rating of 1 fish per acre is a decent lake as far as numbers are considered
jlong
Posted 7/30/2014 11:38 AM (#723326 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..





Posts: 1937


Location: Black Creek, WI
or think about about where the highest concentration of muskie will be at any given time. Whether there are 10 or 1000 you want the best chance for contact.
jaultman
Posted 7/30/2014 11:42 AM (#723327 - in reply to #723321)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..




Posts: 1828


FAT-SKI - 7/30/2014 11:19 AM

Don't think of the overall number of fish in a body of water. You have to try and think of how many per acre.... So like Lake Minnetonka for example I believe is like .80 fish per acre. Where as a lake like St Claire is something crazy like 1.7 fish per acre or whatever. I could be wrong on both. But any lake that has a rating of 1 fish per acre is a decent lake as far as numbers are considered

0.80 muskies/acre in Minnetonka?? You mean 0.08 right? I guess I've never checked.

A few of the lakes I fish have had test netting specific for muskie population estimations in the last few years. Each has an estimated population that ends up between 0.04 to 0.1 muskies per acre. That's a little sad.
ToddM
Posted 7/30/2014 11:46 AM (#723329 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..





Posts: 20219


Location: oswego, il
I have fished a few musky lakes under 100 acres. My guess is they each had over 10000 muskies in them.

Edited by ToddM 7/30/2014 11:47 AM
longcastinlefty
Posted 7/30/2014 11:54 AM (#723330 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..




Posts: 51


Hows that math work? .1 muskies per acre on a 100 acre lake is 10 muskies. 1 musky an acre=100 muskies on a 100acre lake
curleytail
Posted 7/30/2014 12:29 PM (#723336 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..




Posts: 2687


Location: Hayward, WI
I'm pretty sure the lakes I have fished this year have approximately 0.0000001 muskies per acre, lol. It really does depend on lake size and density. If you know those two, you can calculate about how many muskies would be in a given lake, but it would be a pretty rough estimate, being that the muskies per acre is just an estimate/educated guess.

Tucker
WiscoMusky
Posted 7/30/2014 12:36 PM (#723337 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: RE: if you had to guess..




Posts: 397


Location: Wisconsin
the lake size and specific lake in question are going to determine how many fish are in the lake. I fish Pelican Lake in Oneida county often, and I have heard recent estimates of about 1 fish per 15-17 acres (very low density) which would mean there are about 215 adult fish in a lake that's about 3500 acres.

And then there are other lakes like Lake Wingra in Dane county that have an estimated 3.5 fish per acre, and that lake is about 300 acres.

Matt DeVos
Posted 7/30/2014 12:40 PM (#723338 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..




Posts: 580


As I understand, most quality muskie waters have an adult population density of somewhere in the 0.3-0.5 fish/acre range. "Action waters" will typically have adult population of 0.8 fish/acre or higher. 1 fish/acre would be considered "too high" for most lakes and especially those with only an average forage base...

FAT-SKI
Posted 7/30/2014 12:43 PM (#723339 - in reply to #723327)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..




Posts: 1360


Location: Lake "y" cause lake"x" got over fished
jaultman - 7/30/2014 11:42 AM

FAT-SKI - 7/30/2014 11:19 AM

Don't think of the overall number of fish in a body of water. You have to try and think of how many per acre.... So like Lake Minnetonka for example I believe is like .80 fish per acre. Where as a lake like St Claire is something crazy like 1.7 fish per acre or whatever. I could be wrong on both. But any lake that has a rating of 1 fish per acre is a decent lake as far as numbers are considered

0.80 muskies/acre in Minnetonka?? You mean 0.08 right? I guess I've never checked.

A few of the lakes I fish have had test netting specific for muskie population estimations in the last few years. Each has an estimated population that ends up between 0.04 to 0.1 muskies per acre. That's a little sad.


I was rpetty heavily into Muskies INC at the start of my muskie fishing career ( yeah I wish it really was a career) During my time there working with stocking fish and working with the DNR. They determined that there is somewhere between 10,000 - 14,000 muskies in Lake Minnetonka. Well the lake is 14,001 acres large which would put my math close to right on. or about .70 - 1.0 fish per acre. So no I don't mean .08. Even a lake like Millacs I think is close to .18 fish per acre. which is super low. Might be less but If it is, it's not by much.

So if you fish a lake with a much lower density then that, they are really few and far between
ToddM
Posted 7/30/2014 1:29 PM (#723350 - in reply to #723330)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..





Posts: 20219


Location: oswego, il
longcastinlefty - 7/30/2014 11:54 AM

Hows that math work? .1 muskies per acre on a 100 acre lake is 10 muskies. 1 musky an acre=100 muskies on a 100acre lake


I am a glass half full kind of guy and a total smartass.:-). If you average it out, lcs with approximately 100,000 muskies and a small 100 acre low density lake with 50, the average lake has 50,025 muskies in it. Hmmm,I guess I lowballed my first answer.

Edited by ToddM 7/30/2014 1:34 PM
FlyfishMN
Posted 7/30/2014 1:42 PM (#723353 - in reply to #723339)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..





Posts: 59


Location: Minneapolis, MN
I believe fish per acre is with adults muskies > 40 inches. I've heard Tonka has somewhere between 300-600 adult muskies. Puts in prospective the safe handling of the fish as they are very recycled...
longcastinlefty
Posted 7/30/2014 1:44 PM (#723354 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..




Posts: 51


I thought you were talking about the 100 acre lake having 10,000 and being serious. Your number makes more sense now.
jaultman
Posted 7/30/2014 1:49 PM (#723355 - in reply to #723339)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..




Posts: 1828


FAT-SKI - 7/30/2014 12:43 PM
Even a lake like Millacs I think is close to .18 fish per acre. which is super low. Might be less but If it is, it's not by much.

So if you fish a lake with a much lower density then that, they are really few and far between

ALL the lakes I fish have estimated densities MUCH lower than that. Unless you're talking about muskies of all ages - not just adults. Is that the case?

I thought people were throwing around numbers like 2000 or 4000 or so muskies in Mille Lacs a while ago?
Propster
Posted 7/30/2014 3:03 PM (#723368 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..




Posts: 1901


Location: MN
Even if it was 4000, look at the acreage of Mille Lacs. I don't know the littoral acres off the top of my head but it is something less than the 132,000 actual acres. But take the 4000 and divide by 132,000 and you get .03 per acre.
Corso Mike
Posted 7/30/2014 5:02 PM (#723384 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: RE: if you had to guess..




Posts: 182


I'm not going to reply. Sister Lorraine make be still out there somewhere, lurking. The last time I got a math problem wrong..... Lets just say I stay away all math problems. What drove me crazy with her was she had a 48" yard stick from a lumber yard in Chicago. Maybe our fish are really bigger than we think. Catholic school. I've always had this twitch. Why?
miket55
Posted 7/30/2014 5:51 PM (#723393 - in reply to #723384)
Subject: RE: if you had to guess..




Posts: 1267


Location: E. Tenn
Corso Mike - 7/30/2014 6:02 PM

I'm not going to reply. Sister Lorraine make be still out there somewhere, lurking. The last time I got a math problem wrong..... Lets just say I stay away all math problems. What drove me crazy with her was she had a 48" yard stick from a lumber yard in Chicago. Maybe our fish are really bigger than we think. Catholic school. I've always had this twitch. Why?


Hmmmm... a 48" yardstick?? Sister Lorraine should attend summer school for math...

....anyhoo... my knuckles started stinging just reading that!!
ARmuskyaddict
Posted 7/30/2014 6:21 PM (#723398 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..





Posts: 2024


A better question would be, "How may muskies per cubic feet of water?"
milje
Posted 7/30/2014 6:30 PM (#723401 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..




Posts: 410


Location: Wakefield, MI
Exactly 14 in each lake.
tolle141
Posted 7/30/2014 7:57 PM (#723414 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..





Posts: 1000


Density would be a function of:
1. environment - how fertile it it (how many it can support)
2. stocking - at what density does the DNR stock the lake

I believe DNRs typically stock at .25 per acre
lennyg3
Posted 7/30/2014 11:19 PM (#723454 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..





Posts: 483


Location: NE PA
granted .3 fish per acre looks low in a body of water like mille lacs, but consider that there is a lot of water that holds 0.00 muskies for most of the year...
brmusky
Posted 7/31/2014 11:19 AM (#723560 - in reply to #723281)
Subject: Re: if you had to guess..




Posts: 335


Location: Minnesota
It depends on;
the state
the lake classification
management plan for that lake
available forage
spawning success
mortality rates
the winner of the all-star game and the loser of the world series
who wins the border battle
and whether or not the Stanley Cup has ever been dropped into that particular lake.

Email the DNR fisheries manager for the lake you are curious about and ask them. If they don't know they could assist you in figuring out some rough numbers based on averages that they have seen I the region.

The 2 lakes I fish the most here in Minnesota are managed very differently and the population densities are not even close to each other. They are managed differently.