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| I am new to fishing Rice Lake, but from what I understand it has been stocked since 1984. It now is producing a fair number of 50"+ fish every year. It also supports a very good northern population. Does anyone know what strain of fish were/are used to stock this lake. It seems to me that whatever was done in this lake worked quite well and could possibly be used to improve some lakes that I consider fairly similar. I know that there are many variables, but food for thought. |
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Posts: 178
| According to WDNR's online fish stocking database (with 1987 stocking numbers corrected on 2/21/06), Rice Lake in Barron County was stocked as follows:
1984: 939,000 northern pike fry
1987: 1,400 muskellunge fingerlings (9 inches) from the Spooner Hatchery
That year, 4 quarts of eggs came from Lac Courte Oreilles and 18.5 quarts of eggs came from Bone Lake (no mixing with fish from Woodruff Hatchery or elsewhere). So all the muskies stocked into Rice Lake in 1987 had to come originally from either LCO or Bone Lake, according to Spooner Hatchery Manager Gary Lindenberger.
1988-1991: 1,400 muskellunge fingerlings (7-10 inches) annually
1993: 1,900 muskellunge fingerlings (10 inches)
1995, 1997, 1999: 1,400 muskellunge fingerlings (10-12 inches) in each of those years
In 1995, the Spooner Hatchery sent eggs to Woodruff and was closed for renovation. So there is no guarantee that fish stocked into Rice Lake by the Woodruff Hatchery in 1995 originated from eggs collected by the Spooner crew. Irregardless, whatever fish were stocked in 1995 would not be showing up as 50-inch fish in 2005, so this is a moot point and was added solely for the sake of accuracy and thoroughness (DJN 2/23/06).
2001, 2003: 939 muskellunge fingerlings (10-12 inches) in each of those years
These numbers are now confirmed with the local fishery biologist, Heath Benike, as of 2/21/06. I also have confirmed that no muskellunge existed in Rice Lake prior to 1987. Therefore, the oldest muskellunge possible in Rice Lake would have been 18 years old in 2005 (1987 stocked year class).
According to Heath Benike, the last fyke netting survey conducted on Rice Lake was done in spring of 1994. Heath characterized the musky population at that time as one of low density. Fish ranged in length from 12.5 inches to 40.0 inches at that time. So the biggest fish captured in the 1994 fykenetting survey was 40.0 inches long after 7 full growing seasons. That's pretty good.
A number of fish captured during that 1994 survey were aged by the scale method. That method is not particularly reliable for old fish, but these data are probably fairly accurate:
Males and females combined, at age 8 (after 7 full growing seasons), averaged 39.2 inches long. The northwestern Wisconsin average is 36.9 inches at age 8.
Males and females combined, at age 6 (after 5 full growing seasons), averaged 33.5 inches long. The northwestern Wisconsin average is 31.3 inches at age 6.
Heath concluded that growth was above average for northwestern Wisconsin. Apparently those fish have continued to grow at an above-average rate if many are now being caught at 50 inches and larger. This is no surprise, because 939-acre Rice Lake is eutrophic (rich in nutrients) and has 23 species of forage fish, of which redhorse and white sucker (preferred prey for muskellunge) are common to abundant.
So here are some LCO/Bone Lake fish, growing fast and getting big, just like many of the recently revived or newly created musky fisheries in productive Minnesota lakes. Finally we have an apples-to-apples comparison. Word must be spreading about the Rice Lake musky population, because Heath has received his first tournament permit application from the Wisconsin Musky Tour for 2006 at Rice Lake. He is scheduled to perform a fyke-netting survey in spring of 2007 (to mark muskies) with a follow-up survey in spring 2008 (to recapture muskies and calculate a population estimate). The results should be interesting.
Dave Neuswanger
Fisheries Team Leader, Upper Chippewa Basin
Wisconsin DNR, Hayward
Edited by Dave N 2/23/2006 1:37 PM
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Location: Green Bay, WI | Dave N - 2/18/2006 6:48 PM
>SNIP
Interesting observation by the poster...
Especially if the eggs came from Bone Lake broodstock!
TB |
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| Thanks for the info Dave. I would be very interested in learning what strain was stocked. They are extremely girthy fish and seem to have a very good population. Only problem is that alot get killed out of here. The local taxidermist has 3 over 50" and I know of at least 2 others kept last year. |
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| who is the local taxidermist? |
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| FOX |
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Posts: 178
| Please see the second posting in this thread. Numbers have been revised, confirmed, and interpreted. Thank you.
Dave Neuswanger
Fisheries Team Leader, Upper Chippewa Basin
Wisconsin DNR, Hayward |
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| Very interesting indeed. I thought that the "Bone Lake mutts" rarely got above 36" and maxed out at 46", tops? They are genetically programed that way, right? Instead we have muskies hitting 40" in 7 years, and 5, and possibly more, 50" fish coming out of a 900 acre lake in one season? And these fish are 18 years old or less?
Seems like strong "food for thought" for the IT'S THE FISH, STUPID fan club...
What would the WMRP position be in response to this evidence?
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| Dave, thanks for the research. It is very interesting. Also to note that on Rice most musky are caught either early or late in the season. In mid summer it gets very thick weed growth and very little musky pressure. I think the WMT tournament will be a success here in June, hopefully some quality fish will show up. |
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| Here is a link for a article in local paper a couple of years ago. http://www.ricelakeonline.com/newarticle.asp?ArticleID=6180 |
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Posts: 178
| Thanks for sharing that newspaper article KJGMH. If accurate, the first 50-inch musky was caught in Rice Lake in 2001 after only 13 full growing seasons in the lake. Not bad for a "slow-growing Bone Lake mutt." |
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Location: The Yahara Chain | guest - 2/22/2006 5:37 PM
Very interesting indeed. I thought that the "Bone Lake mutts" rarely got above 36" and maxed out at 46", tops? They are genetically programed that way, right? Instead we have muskies hitting 40" in 7 years, and 5, and possibly more, 50" fish coming out of a 900 acre lake in one season? And these fish are 18 years old or less?
Seems like strong "food for thought" for the IT'S THE FISH, STUPID fan club...
What would the WMRP position be in response to this evidence?
Guest I don't know where you are hearing the 36" stuff. Here in Madison (Bone Lake Brood stock) we have a lot of 45"-48" fish. These fish get very chunky but they seem to top out at 48". In October of '04, I released a 47.75" that had a tag in her. I hope somebody catches her this year so we can see if she is still growing.
Dave, question for you sir, will we be getting Chippewa Flowage brood this year for our side by side study with the LL fish? This is in Lake Monona. I have a feeling that the Chip brood will out perform the Bone Lake brood. |
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Posts: 178
| BYTOR: Dave, question for you sir, will we be getting Chippewa Flowage brood this year for our side by side study with the LL fish? This is in Lake Monona. I have a feeling that the Chip brood will out perform the Bone Lake brood.
DAVE: Troy, I know the plan is to use Chippewa Flowage fish in the paired stocking study with Leech Lake strain fish in the seven St. Croix Basin lakes. I am not personally informed about the specific plans for Lake Monona, which is not part of the St. Croix Basin research study; so you may want to check on that with someone like Scot Stewart or Tim Simonson. We will make a determined effort to obtain all broodstock for the Spooner Hatchery this spring from the Chippewa Flowage. I don't know if the Flowage fish will be any different or perform any differently than those from Bone Lake (they may, and they may not). But I feel good about using the Flowage as a source because of its inherent diversity. Dr. Sloss at UWSP recommended that we rotate sources of broodstock for Wisconsin hatchery production in order to avoid inbreeding. We agree wholeheartedly with his recommendations and will be doing this for the foreseeable future. Because we will likely never go back to using Bone Lake as a sole source of broodstock every year, we may as well compare Leech Lake strain performance against the performance of fish that will represent the FUTURE of Wisconsin broodstock. I realize this does not answer your question completely, but it's the best I can offer based upon what I know.
Dave Neuswanger
Fisheries Team Leader, Upper Chippewa Basin
Wisconsin DNR, Hayward
Edited by Dave N 2/23/2006 7:42 PM
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| As a person who grew up on Rice Lake and has fished it since the early-80's I can tell you with 100% certainty that Rice Lake contained muskies PRIOR to the initial stocking of ’87. If you need proof I would suggest obtaining microfiche of the Chronotype (local paper) and searching the sports section for tidbits. I know there are accounts of big fish taken in the 80’s, although I will admit that most people from town would head out of town to fish due to a very small population in Rice Lake.
I need to go back and see what year they drained the lake to do the dam repair. I believe that was the mid-80’s. For one summer the lake was drained down to a swamp, which leads me to believe that the fish that re-populated the lake came from the Red Cedar river which flows into Rice Lake.
For those unfamiliar with Rice Lake, it is a weed-choked mess in the summer. There are 2 weed cutters that try to keep the weeds under control, but it is a losing battle.
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Posts: 178
| Thanks for the additional info, Local. I was aware of a very low population prior to draining the lake down to a shallow pool, but I assumed that large fish disappeared at that time and that the Bone Lake/LCO muskies stocked in 1987 are the ones showing up as 50-inchers now. It would be interesting to get an accurate date on drawdown and refilling, if you can find it. We may need to rethink this. Thanks again.
Dave Neuswanger
Fisheries Team Leader, Upper Chippewa Basin
Wisconsin DNR, Hayward |
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