May 20, 2007
Press Release

Wisconsin - DNR News

Musky fishing continues to grow in popularity

MADISON -- When the first day of the 2007 northern zone musky season arrives May 26, more anglers will be catching more fish faster, and sending more back to the water to fight another day, than a generation ago.

“The popularity of musky fishing is definitely growing – the number of participants has more than quadrupled over the last 50 years,” says Tim Simonson, a Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist who co-chairs the agency’s musky team.

An estimated 456,000 anglers pursued muskellunge in Wisconsin in 2001, the last year in which survey results are available, up 25 percent since 1994.

The legendary “fish of 10,000 casts,” used to take two guys in a boat 50 hours to catch. Now it is closer to 24 hours and 3,000 casts.

And more anglers are landing trophy fish than a generation ago, based on reports from Muskies Inc. members. In 2006, members reported catching more than 60 fish 48 inches and greater. That’s up from the average over the past decade of about 29 fish over 48 inches.

More fish of all sizes are being released

During 2006, muskellunge harvest averaged only about 26 fish per 1,000 acres of Class A musky water, down from 41 per 1,000 acres in 1990, Simonson says. Class A musky waters are the best musky waters, with the most fish and the biggest fish.

Here’s some other interesting facts about the fish named the official state fish in 1955. More information can be found on the musky fishing page of the DNR Web site.

• Fishable populations of musky are found in 711 lakes and 83 stream segments in 48 counties. The heaviest concentration of lakes with musky is found in the head water regions of the Chippewa, Flambeau, and Wisconsin rivers.
• More world records have been landed in Wisconsin than anywhere else.
• The state and world record is a 69 lbs, 11 oz. fish taken from the Chippewa Flowage. Also credited to Wisconsin is the world record hybrid musky, 51 lbs, 3 oz. from Lac Vieux Desert.
• Musky densities are very low, even in the best waters, because muskies are large top predators that tend to choose vulnerable spawning sites. Good musky waters average 1 adult fish for 3 surface acres, compared to up to 20 adults per 3 surface acres in good walleye lakes.
• In the latest year for which survey results are available, anglers in 2001 reported catching 296,289 musky.
• 2006 was a great year for anglers; they reported catching more than 60 musky over 48 inches, including a 54 lb, 10-oz fish from the Lower Fox River and a 51-lb, 2 oz fish from a Vilas County lake.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Simonson - (608) 266-5222

Deadly fish disease reported in Lake Winnebago system

MADISON – Reports over the weekend that a new viral fish disease likely killed fish in the Lake Winnebago System is spurring Wisconsin fisheries officials to seek to expand the reach of emergency rules aimed at preventing viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS, from spreading to new waters.

Fisheries officials will ask the state Natural Resources Board to meet in a special session Thursday, May 17, to consider expanding key emergency rule requirements beyond Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, the Mississippi River and their tributaries. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. in Room 613 of the State Natural Resources Building (GEF 2), 101 S. Webster St., Madison.

“When we originally went to the Natural Resources Board in April, they made it clear to us that if VHS was found outside Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and the Mississippi River, they wanted us to come back and they would consider extending the rules to new waters or statewide,” Staggs says. “That’s what we’re doing now that initial tests indicate the disease has spread to the Lake Winnebago system.”

Based on their suspicions in April that VHS virus was already in or would soon be found in Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and the Mississippi River, fisheries officials proposed different special rules on fish handling, live well and bait bucket water handling and boat cleaning for those waters than for inland waters. They thought the virus would be in those three major water bodies and their tributaries because they are connected to eastern Lake Michigan waters where VHS had already been confirmed and where it had killed thousands of game fish and panfish in 2005 and 2006.

VHS is not a health threat to people who handle infected fish or want to eat their catch, but it can kill more than 25 fish species, causing them to bleed to death.

DNR received news late May 11 that two drum, or sheepshead, from Little Lake Butte des Morts had tested positive for VHS, and that other dead fish collected from Lake Winnebago itself appear to have the virus was deeply concerning. The Lake Winnebago system is home to a $234 million fishery and the world’s largest lake sturgeon population, and it has dozens of boat landings and many boaters coming from other states and other parts of Wisconsin. Fully 90 percent of anglers answering a 2006 survey said they do not own or live on waterfront property on that system but bring their boats there. Movement of boats from one water body to another is a likely path for spreading the virus.

Until the Natural Resources Board considers expanding the requirement later this week, Staggs urges boaters and anglers on all Wisconsin lakes and waters to take those steps that will help prevent the spread of VHS to more waters.

• Do not move live fish (including unused bait minnows) away from the landing or shore.
• Drain all water from bilges, bait buckets, live wells and other containers when leaving the landing or shore.
• Use live minnows purchased only from registered bait dealers in Wisconsin or catch it yourself in the same water you fish.
• Before launching and before leaving for the day, inspect your boat and trailer and clean both of all visible plants and animals.

In addition, Staggs urges people who have been boating on the Winnebago System to disinfect their boats and boating and fishing gear before moving to new waters by mixing 1/3 cup of bleach with 5 gallons of water. Apply the solution to the hull, trailer, live well, bilge and any other areas or things that may hold water or moisture. Leave the solution in contact with these areas for at least 5 minutes before rinsing off. Do not rinse the bleach solution into lakes or rivers.

Some of these steps are the same ones DNR has been asking boaters and anglers to take for years to prevent the spread of invasive species such as zebra mussels and Eurasian water milfoil.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Staggs- (608) 220-2609, George Boronow- (920) 662-5426

Northern zone musky season opens May 26

MADISON – Results of a recent study of how muskellunge move about lakes and home ranges may be of interest to musky anglers who will be searching out a trophy fish when the northern zone musky season opens May 26.

Researcher Jordan Weeks, a Department of Natural Resources fish biologist and avid musky angler, with the assistance of other DNR staff and several musky organizations, completed a two-year study in 2005 on the movement of muskellunge and their home range patterns.

“There were two questions I was looking to answer,” says Weeks. “Do muskies spawn in the same lake each year and if so, do they stay in that lake all summer long?”

Results from the study showed that nearly 60 percent of muskies spawned in the same lake each year, which meant that a good proportion -- about 40 percent -- had moved onto other lakes. However, Weeks discovered that regardless of whether the muskies left the lake they spawned in or not, once they got where they were going, they usually stayed there.

“The summer home range for muskies is about 4 acres or roughly four football fields,” says Weeks. “As an angler, once you know the home range and you see the fish you want to catch, you can use that to your advantage and keep fishing in that relatively small area.”

It’s the nature of muskies to show themselves off at times, but not always bite, according to Weeks. Once you know they’re there, slowing down and looking for certain structures in the lake can be a clue to where the elusive fighter has disappeared to.

“If you see a fish on a particular structure in your favorite lake, such as a log, a turn in the weed edge or a sunken island, you know that that fish will be somewhere within a four football field area,” says Weeks. “Once I locate a fish and it’s not coming off its usual structure, I move on to the next closest piece of structure I can find and that often brings out that fish.”

Although this claim isn’t backed by statistics, Weeks’ experience during the study suggests that turning your trolling motor and electronics off might reduce your chances of spooking the fish.

“Some fish -- and I can’t say all of them -- when I tried to sneak up on them with my trolling motor, they were always swimming away,” says Weeks. “However, there were several fish I could drive right over with my outboard motor. The trolling motor may or may not spook the fish, but it’s a chance I don’t want to take, especially if there’s a real big fish.”

One musky survey last year on Lake Wissota in Chippewa Falls produced a 50 and a 54-inch musky.

“Most of the larger water bodies have the potential of having 50-inch plus fish in them,” says Joe Kurz, a DNR fish biologist. “However, these fish are older and wiser and not as easy for anglers to catch, much less hook.”

The northern zone musky fishing season will be open from May 26 to Nov. 30 and includes inland waters north of Highway 10. Current regulations for most waters are a daily bag limit of one and a minimum length limit of 34 inches.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Jordan Weeks– (608) 785-9002, Joe Kurz- (715)726-7884