The Muskellunge in Michigan
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/2,zr ' The Muskellunge In Michigan By JOHN E. WILLIAMS Student in Fisheries y araci University of Michigan The Great Lakes muskellunge—Esox m. masquitiongy (from the Fishery Industries of the U. S. by G. B. Goode, 1884) Institute for Fisheries Research Fish and Fisheries Division . MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION Reprinted from MICHIGAN CONSERVATI0i4 For October, 1948 Vol. XVH, No. 10, pp. 10, 11, 15 • HERE- IS THE BEST PLACE TO CATCH large, fairly deep lakes, containing plenty Wmuskies in Michigan? Lake,St. Clair, of food. within sight of Detroit, and the Detroit River are the spots that account for the How Muskies Are Caught most and usually the largest muskellunge. It may be interesting to most fishermen, Hundreds are caught there by hook and and especially to those who fish for muskies, line each year and many more are speared to know something about how other fisher- through the ice. An example of their abund- men fish for these big game fish. At least ance in Lake St. Clair is that during the win- five times more muskies are caught while ter of 1937-38, 2,500 muskies were speared. trolling than while still-fishing. This is Many record fish have been taken there, perhaps not surprising unless it be because including the world record-holder (1940- so many fish are caught while still-fishing. 1947) taken with rod and reel, a 62½- The most surprising thing is the size pound musky caught by Percy Haver of of the fish caught by still-fishing, ten of Detroit. Haver has also accounted for 59-, 1 1 1 which averaged 26 /2, pounds! This is the 58 /2- and 56 /2-pound specimens from the same average as for fish caught on the huge same 'lake and holds the world record with musky plugs. Fish caught on spoons and five muskies taken in one day, totaling 187 spinners average from eight pounds on the pounds. smallest spinners to 22 pounds on the larger spoons, while the average on the medium- Few In Inland Waters size plugs, such as the pikie minnow, was The next ten locations which I have 23 pounds. So, if it's the big fish you want, found to be highest in number of reports are: Elk Lake in Antrim and Grand Trav- erse counties, Gun and Thornapple Lakes KEY TO DISTRIBUTION MAP in Barry county, Lac Vieux Desert (which 1. Lac Vieux Desert, Gogebic county, seven reports. probably contains the Wisconsin variety or 2. Tahquamenon River, Chippewa county, two re- ports. Tiger musky, while the rest contain the 3. Munuscong Bay, off Chippewa county, two re- Great Lakes variety) in Gogebic county, ports. 4. Brevort Lake, Mackinac county, five reports. Cheboygan River in Cheboygan county, 5. Les Cheneaux Islands off Mackinac county, three reports. Manistee Lake in Manistee county, Round 6. Cheboygan River Chain, Cheboygan county, 14 re- Lake in Grand Traverse county, Brevort ports: Cheboygan River—seven reports, Lake in Mackinac county, Hamlin Lake in Burt Lake—three reports, Mason county and Pentwater Lake in Oce- Indian River—three reports, Mullett Lake—one report. ana county. Also pretty good are Torch 7. Black Lake, Cheboygan county, one report. 8. Crooked Lake, Emmet county, one report. Lake in Antrim county, Big Platte Lake in 9. Lake Charlevoix, Charlevoix county, one report. Benzie county and Burt Lake and Indian 10. Central Antrim County Lakes, five reports: Lake Bellaire—one report, River in Cheboygan county. Offshore, Intermediate Lake—two reports, Les Cheneaux Islands off Mackinac county Scott Lake—one report, Wilson Lake—one report. and Betsie Bay off Benzie county are tops. 11. Torch Lake Chain, Antrim and Grand Traverse At least 17 counties have muskellunge in counties, 26 reports: Elk Lake-14 reports, their inland waters and all the counties Elk River—two reports, Round Lake—six reports, bordering the Great Lakes probably have Torch Lake—four reports. them in their offshore bays. When one 12. Lake Leelanau, Leelanau county, one report. 13. Cedar Lake, Leelanau county, one report. looks at the map of the distribution of the 14. Big Platte Lake, Benzie county, three reports. muskellunge in Michigan (Fig. 1), it is 15. Betsie Bay off Benzie county, five reports. 16. Manistee Lake, Manistee county, six reports. immediately noticeable that all the locations 17. Hamlin Lake, Mason county, two reports. 18. Pere Marquette Lake, Mason county, two reports. are in counties bordering the Great Lakes 19. Pentwater Lake, Oceana county, five reports. except one, Barry county. This is due either 20. Muskegon Lake, Muskegon county, two reports., 21. Lake Macatawa, Ottawa county, two reports. to the musky being unable to penetrate into 22. Gun Lake, Barry county, 11 reports. 23. Thornapple Lake, Barry county, 10 reports. many inland lakes hecause of dams, water- 24. Detroit River, Wayne county, 26 reports. falls, etc., or because most inland waters 25. Lake St. Clan off Macomb county, 98- reports. 26. Anchor Bay of Lake St. Clair of Macomb and St. are not suitable habitats. Muskies prefer Clair counties, nine reports. my advice would be to troll with the large miliar, accounts for a surprising number musky lures or still-fish with large minnows. of muskies, especially if the black and white However, if you'd rather catch, more mus- color pattern is used. kies, even though they average less in Probably less than 10 per cent of the weight, use the spinner rigs and spoons (3/0 muskies taken are caught by women, and spinners and No. 3 spoons seem most ef- according to The Detroit Free Press Fishing fective). Speaking of spoons, the dare- Contest, the heaviest one caught by a devil, with which most fishermen are fa- woman in the last 12 years weighed 39 ISLE ROYALE DOMINION OF CANADA Fig. 1. Distribution of the muskellunge in Michigan. pounds. (She won the contest that year, is more than average weight. However, as too.) with most other things, there are exceptions. Fish like the one which was 39 inches long Basis For Comparison and weighed 39 pounds are much heavier If you have ever caught a musky you may for their length than the average. This could have wondered how it compared with other be due to a number of things. Either 1) fish caught in the same lake or elsewhere. the fish, like some humans, really was very Here then is how you can find out. On stout and chunky, or 2) it may have just the length-weight diagram (Fig. 2) are 162 swallowed a good-sized meal such as a five- dots, each representing one muskellunge. or 10-pound walleye, or 3), it may have been These have been plotted opposite their a female full of eggs. Large muskies may weight on the side of the graph and their carry over 15 pounds of eggs just before length on the bottom of the graph. If a breeding season. I believe that either items musky is 50 inches long and weighs 40 pounds, a line is drawn straight up from 50 2) or 3) are responsible, because the largest inches on the bottom and another line is variations are all above the line, indicating drawn straight out from 40 pounds on the that no musky is as much underweight as side; where the lines intersect a dot is these were overweight. 0 placed. After all the 10 I 20 1 5 / 40 - I 59 i 60 1 ' I 90 fish have been plot- ted in this manner, / it is possible to draw 00 • 10C in a line which will represent the aver- /• 60 90 age of these dots at / each length and weight. Here we / ao have a tool which ed / should be useful to / v the angler who Ii cno To io. catches a musky and ,I wishes to compare _ , . 0 • the weight of his fish 60 60 with the average in Michigan for that 2 - length. By finding .. .59 the weight of his fish • . on the left of the tJ graph and following 4. 3 SO • • - •• . .0 the line across until . • - ' : 3 it intersects the line „ 6 coming up from the 30 ? ' " 6 length of the fish •• • along the bottom of the graph, he will 20 2;./ see whether it is to I. the right or left of the average line. If 10 1,4 it is to the right of ........ the average line his ....... .. ------- ' ... ,.,_ . - fish is less than aver- 10 20 '10 50 60 70 90 Re age weight and if to LENGTH IN - INCHES the left of the line it Fig. 2. Length-weight relationship of the muskellunge in Michigan. How old are muskies? Probably not so The purpose of this article has been to old as you'd think, due to their rapid rate of survey the literature of the muskellunge in "growth. At five years of age they are usually Michigan. I have been unable to handle around 32 inches long (two inches over the specimens themselves, but have had to legal size), and weigh seven or eight pounds. sift out the reports and try to decide whether By 10 years of age they are probably up to each was authentic, unverified or false. I believe many persons in their zeal call large 20 to 25 pounds, and if they live long northern pike muskies, and perhaps some enough they may weigh 50 pounds before reports included here are of these fish. Many they are 15 years old. By this time they are reports look "fishy" in other ways also. For nearly a pound per inch. From here on example, one fish 41 inches long weighed 37 they continue to put on weight rapidly, per- pounds, yet only had a girth of 18 inches, - haps gaining several pounds per inch of while another 43 inches long and weighing length.