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I knew this wasn't a Problem!!! The Vince Rocks! Hope your fishing season has gone well for You!!!!

 i used to like spam-fried- but now bologna is ok

Trying to sort through all the spammers.  If you have been banned and don't know why, please email me (vweirick@kconline.com) and I will get it fixed.  Sorry for any inconvenience.

No, it is not.

Is Blue Lake in Whitley County stocked with muskies?

Thanks,
Mike

Great job WLMC!

For immediate release: Aug 04, 2010
Posted by: [DNR]
Contact: Jed Pearson
Phone: (260) 244-6805
Email: dnrnews@dnr.in.gov
Muskies to be stocked in Lake Everett
ARCOLA - State fisheries biologists plan to approve a private request to stock muskies in Lake Everett in an ongoing effort to reduce an unwanted population of gizzard shad in the 43-acre lake northwest of Fort Wayne.

The step comes after an attempt to reduce shad abundance in September 2008, when DNR biologists applied 21 gallons of rotenone to the lake. Some shad survived and many returned to the lake by swimming up the outlet ditch.

Based on results of a survey conducted by the DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife in early June, shad are still the most abundant fish in the lake, accounting for nearly half of the fish biomass.

"We knew some shad would eventually get back into Lake Everett but heavy rains this spring raised the water level in the ditch and allowed many to return," said Jed Pearson, DNR biologist. "We now need to look into other options to manage the shad population."

Gizzard shad are silver-colored fish that compete for food with bluegills and other popular sport fish. Their flesh is oily and of little interest to anglers. Although they are native to many Indiana lakes and rivers, including Lake Everett and the Eel River watershed, shad numbers can reach nuisance levels when predator densities are low. Biologists hope the stocked muskies will eat many of the shad in the lake.

According to Pearson, the Webster Lake Musky Club, headquartered in North Webster, has offered to purchase 250 muskie fingerlings this fall from a private hatchery in Wisconsin to stock Lake Everett. For that to be legal, the DNR must first issue a permit.

"We're glad to see the Lake Webster Musky Club step forward to make this offer," Pearson said. "Muskies will not only eat some of the shad, they will provide more muskie fishing opportunities in the area."

Muskies are currently stocked in seven lakes in Kosciusko, Noble and Fulton counties but none are stocked in the Fort Wayne area. Once muskies are released in Lake Everett, plans are to continue to stock the lake with the fish annually.


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Link to this event: http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/56209.htm

Muskies to be stocked in Lake Everett Aug 04, 2010 content_id:1FAF39D7B0E0467192449873D1BAC826; type:press; agency:DNR; showOnHomepage:; sortDate:Aug 04, 2010; filterDate:201008; isBanner:no; agencyDivision:DNR;08 - August;2010;Press Release;Show on Home

Your help is needed.  There are some fishing rule regulations being proposed at this point by the DNR.  You can find them here: http://www.in.gov/nrc/2377.htm

Please comment on the shad regulation.  They are proposing the use of live shad...but only in certain lakes/rivers.  At this point the proposal is not for any muskie lakes.  You can comment on the proposal by going to the link above.  Please ask for the use of live shad on muskie waters!

The country’s top musky lake
Outdoor World
By
Mike Schoonveld

Mike worked as a Wildlife Biologist at Willow Slough for Over 35 years and is now a charter captain on Lake Michigan.  Schoonveld is a Certified Wildlife Biologist, a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, Hoosier Outdoor Writers, The Wildlife Society, The National Geographic Society. Lake County Fish and Game Protection Association, Salmon Unlimite4 ISTA, NRA, DU, Pheasants Forever and other conservation groups.

I once heard an expert musky fisherman say you need to make a thousand good casts to catch a single fish and that only 1 cast in 10 is a good cast. That’s why the fish was once known as the fish of 10 thousand casts. Perhaps that was the case back then when muskellunge, the giant cousin of the northern pike, was relegated to a few north woods lakes in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan.
Nowadays, muskies are much more widespread and in fact, according to a recent report from the Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife, Northern Indiana’s Lake Webster contains more muskies than any other lake in the state and has one of the densest musky populations in the nation. If it takes you a thousand casts to catch a musky in Lake Webster, you are doing something all wrong! Biologists estimate there are -about 1,900 adult muskies in the 774-acre Kosciusko County lake. The estimate was calculated from catches of tagged muskies recaptured during sampling each spring since 2006. “Our numbers indicate there are currently about 2.5 muskies per acre of water,” said Jed Pearson DEW biologist who has monitored the musky population since the fish were first stocked there in 1981.
Couple this with the known fact the fast-growing predator favors certain habitat areas much more than others, that crowds the fish into an area much smaller than you’d think. Most musky lakes in Indiana and across the nation have fewer than one adult per acre, even those which are heavily stocked with hatchery fish. The natural lakes where it may take the 10,000 casts to catch a fish have fewer than one musky for every 10 acres of water.
The high number of muskies in Webster is due to the high number of fingerlings stocked each year. Since 1997, the DEW has released about 3,800 musky fingerlings each year into the lake at a rate of five per acre. Stocking rates in other states are typically one or two per acre, sometimes on an alternating-year basis. In several cases, even fewer muskies are stocked in those states.
“We’ve probably maxed out the number of muskies that can be stocked in Webster lake,” said Pearson. “That’s good news to musky fishermen but we don’t want to over-stock the lake.”
Biologists aren’t worried about too many muskies in Webster Lake, so far. Theft tests show muskie growth in Webster is comparable to musky growth in other lakes, If over-stocking were to happen the fish would grow more slowly as each fish would have to scramble to find enough food to eat Over-stocking could also lead to negative impacts on other species, or perhaps even cannibalism as adult muskies could be forced to prey upon newly stocked fingerlings.
“We haven’t detected any negative impacts of the musky population on other fish in Webster,” said Pearson. “There seems to be ample number of gizzard shad and other forage fish for them to eat.”
Biologists estimate muskies in Webster from ages 4 through 8 average 31, 34, 36, 38, and 42 inches long, respectively with some muskies more than 48 inches long present.
“We think we have a good balance in terms of musky numbers and size,” said Pearson. Although muskies are abundant in Webster, the DFW has no plans to reduce the stocking rate.
“We get our muskie eggs from females at Webster for Indiana’s hatchery program,” said Pearson.  “We want to make sure there are plenty of adult muskies to keep the stocking program going.”
I want them to keep stocking levels high because how much fun could it be to have to make 10 thousand casts to catch one fish?

A friend of mine sent me this still shot of a muskie while the boat just started to take off skiing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k86Tm0lKaPs&NR=1