Hiya -
Whether or not Mille Lacs has 'peaked' depends on which peak you're talking about. I don't have the copy in front of me, but I'm pretty sure the quote from Tom Jones (the Large Lake Specialist) was something like "In terms of overall population [emphasis mine] the population has already peaked." He said 1998 was probably the peak year. In other words - there are less muskies in Mille Lacs now than there were in 1998... Hard to argue that based on the DNR's survey data. In terms of ultimate size and age, it may be peaking, or may not... That's a far more debatable question. Ultimate size and age can vary dramatically from system to system (see "Growth and Ultimate Length of Muskellunge from Ontario Water Bodies," Cassleman, Robinson and Crossman). Even within the potential range of maximum size, there are always outliers - fish that exceed (or conversely, fail to reach) the theoretical average ultimate size. The average American male is 5'10" tall - but there are still 5'2" guys - and 7 footers - walking around. With the huge initial stockings Mille Lacs received, the odds are better that those fish may appear in the population as they reach their ultimate size and age, siomply because there are more fish there in the first place... But again, who knows what the ultimate size and age are on Mille Lacs? As far as the long term population goes, I do think John Skarie (he and I have talked about this a number of times, and seen it on other bodies of water) and Aaron are right when they suggests that stocked waters go through a predictable cycle of peak and decline before settling into a fairly stable fishery. That may happen with Mille Lacs, or may not. It's such a unique body of water in so many respects that predicting what it will do is pretty sketchy. What is certain is this: stocking levels have been lower since the initial stocking of the lake. That's typical for a muskie introduction in MN - annual stocking for 5 years, then switching to every other year. In addition, the DNR introduced a gap in the stocking sequence (skipped a scheduled stocking, so no fish were stocked for 3 years) to create a year class gap that will help them assess the level of natural reproduction in the lake. Knowing that will help them determine stocking levels going forward. One thing Tom Jones was pretty clear on - maintaining the population in Mille Lacs at its peak level isn't a realistic goal. It's still going to be a good, trophy fishery, but there won't be as many fish as there have been. Long story short - has Mille Lacs peaked? Yes, and maybe not. Yes in terms of overall population numbers, perhaps not (likely not, IMHO) in terms of growth. Cheers, Rob Kimm | 
