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| Grabbing at straws here but what the heck.
I have been helping with spring netting at a lake. The lake has not been stocked with muskie since 2005, We have gotten some really big females in the nets this year. There are some unconfirmed reports of 18-24"ers caught last year. If this is the case, then there has to be natural reproduction at some level. We netted some 2-4" perch and i was wondering this. Does perch naturally reproducing mean muskies may be as well? Do they use similar spawning habitat? reproduce under simlar environments? The netting is to spawn walleye at the lake hatchery but ibviously we get a mix of fish in the nets. White/striped bass are really doing well on their own too. Just curious since there doesnt seem to be a big push for stocking more muskie (same story). |
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Posts: 227
Location: New Brighton, MN | I often fish a lake that matches your description. The DNR shows it having no natural reproduction, however I catch small muskies like you describe every year, in addition to catching tiger muskies up to 30". Additionally I witness the muskies spawning up a river every spring, and watch them swim by my dock with scars from spawning. Not sure if they are just "going thru the motions" of spawning, or if they are actually reproducing, but the younger class of muskies and tigers tells me that they are getting it done to some extent.
According to the WDNR website, they last stocked in 2005 (711 large fingerling) and 2007 (395 large fingerling). The lake has perch and a great population of white bass too. I wonder if we're talking about the same lake? what are the odds? 
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Location: SE Wisconsin | I don't believe there is a correlation to the perch spawn vs the musky spawn. Musky eggs sink and do not stick to weeds, unlike pike, thus because of their density, if the substrate is silty or muddy, often times they will suffocate and reproduction can be difficult. If you're seeing some signs of spawning success, there must be some decent spawning sites within the lake. While perch also prefer a sturdy substrate, they are more likely to spawn on sand and gravel, where as musky will usually try to be on the ouside edge of a shallow weedline (3-6 feet). The reason for this is because of the competition with pike fingerlings who spawned a couple weeks previous in the 1-3 feet of water on the inside (shoreline edge of (and in) weeds. It can be torturing for exposed newly hatched musky fry, thus being close to weeds allows for some cover to aid the musky in their effort to survive.
While I guess I'm not entirely clear on your question, if it's only regarding musky vs perch relationship. . . I don't see any.
Help any?
Edited by Sam Ubl 4/27/2009 4:04 PM
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| I figured there was no correlation. Just wishfull thinking. The lake (Lake Carroll Illinois) has some sandy areas where we have netted some big muskie. Yes, there are areas of silt where the eggs would suffocate as well. |
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