musky pics from the ice

[Musky50]

I know this can be a touchy subject, but I'm going to jump in with both feet. Hopefully this post helps some of you understand where those of us who fish for musky regularly are coming from.
The DNR has done an outstanding job with the musky program here in Indiana. That being said, there are very few lakes in the state which have a viable population present. The lakes in the North Webster area are stocked with musky in part because of the abundant food source (Gizzard Shad) present. The DNR only stocks lakes that have the food base to support musky. Typically Gizzard Shad, or a lake with stunted panfish. Musky help control the shad population which in theory helps the panfish population.
Musky are expensive to stock......the Webster Lake Musky Club stocks a local lake yearly and released fish are typically in the 9-12" range. The cost is somewhere around $10-12 per fish. Not sure what the DNR spends yearly on the musky program, but I'm sure it is a big number.
These fish are not plentiful, even in the best waters.  All the guys I know who fish for musky regularly release every fish for the following reason.... musky are tough to catch and every released fish has the chance to be caught again. As mentioned by WallyDiven earlier.......he targets them regularly during open water and caught 8 fish last year. That is not unusual, just shows how tough musky fishing is and how few of them there are even in the best waters. Proper handling techniques coupled with good release tools up the odds of a fish surviving being caught.
Ice fishing is tough on muskies for the reasons mentioned earlier in this discussion. If you choose to target them through the ice that is certainly your right. Hopefully some of the info in this thread is useful and informative for the non musky fishing guys.

[musky8it]

......................Hopefully some of the info in this thread is useful and informative for the non musky fishing guys.

V. nice post M50, some good imput. Some will find it usefull, but some won't. The ones who feel entitled because they pay taxes, you will never persuade them to be carefull, sad. You made a good point that some Musky clubs also dish out of their own pockets money to stock, tks.
Can't remember where I read it, but I thought I read that the DNR is thinking about raiseing the length limit on some lakes. You heard anything on that? Would be nice to see them go to 48", thought that is what I read.

[william bennett]

as President of the Webster Lake Musky Club  let me say thank you for the kind words about the stockings that we do every year.. we raise alot of money to be able to stock the healthy  12 to 15 inch muskies that we do.   and let me clear a few things up.. first of all the Indiana Musky Fishery is starting to  get back on track we hope..  after having several meetings with the IDNR  the 2  musky clubs here in Indiana have made some headsence of the situation on our lakes..  first its up to be passed the size limit on Webster only  being raised to 46 inches and the rest of the state will still remain at 36   and as for stockings   all the lakes got the usual numbers  but  webster got bigger fish stocked.. one of the things we were striving for  was to get longer reared muskie stocked..  going back to the 90 day forage fed  and getting away from the 30 day forage fed.. but  this is what happpened  Webster got 60 day FF fish and  the rest still got the 30 FF fish..  so webby got  roughly 8 to 10 inchers and the rest got 6 to 8 inchers..   its a start  but our club has shown how the bigger fish that are stocked are much better  than the smaller fish.. they are more primed and ready to eat and survive on their own than  the smaller fish still hanging around the dump spots for along time waiting for a handout..   i will say these fish are not cheap  roughly  10 bucks a peice. so think of that cost for the state.. i do have the numbers for all the lakes and roughly it was around 25,000 stocked in Indiana and 34,000 were traded with  Ill,Tenn,Oh,IO, for  fish. and the reason for the limit on webby only is becouse that lake is Indiana's brood stock lake  and  they think that that will help them  and it will.. we are hoping that in the future that the size limit will be the 46 all over Indiana lakes..

now on to the Ice fishing for them.. they can be iced in the winter.. the best way would to use a jigging rod like a jason mitchell  big fish rod  and jigs..  they can be caught on boards but they do have a tendancy to swallow the bait  unless your lucky and they just swim with it for a bit..   i use a 8 inch hole   thats usually big enough   and this is how you release them  to be caught  another day..  make sure it all happens fast.. when you pull them out of the hole get them unhooked , get your pic taken, holding them horizonal  then put their head through the hole and gently push them back into the lake and hold their tail at the waterline.. they will let you know when they are ready to go.   this is basicly the same as you would do for them on a boat in open water..   
as being a Indiana Musky Guide and a true musky nut i have always put these fish ontop of my list..  they are a rare fish  to catch but not as hard as they used to be   and with the numbers  our lakes have  its a good thing..  after all the years Indiana finally has our own muskie strain.. and our fish are starting to swim in lakes all across the crountry  becouse of what IDNR has done  to the Muskie  since they started stocking them in the late 70's

and also if anyone is wanting to get some good baits  and tackle for musky fishing  we even have a few guided trips on there too.  please check out our auction where all the money raised goes to our Indiana Fishery      here is the link to it

http://www.32auctions.com/wlmc49
hhp://www.websterlakemuskyclub.net

[seahawk27]

Anyone who kills Muskies isnt a real fishermen.

[fishogger]

Anyone who kills Muskies isnt a real fishermen.

lol OMG

thanks for chiming in william! some good insight from one who really knows is always apreciated.

[william bennett]

no problem hogger thats what im here for ..

[walleyepac]

I will say that just because musky are in the Pike family don't mean they taste the same, big difference even in the meat color pike has more of a white texture, muskys r a lot darker , kinda orange, and yes , nowhere near as good, lots of good info here.

[musky8it]

Anyone who kills Muskies isnt a real fishermen.

 I musky fish and even I wouldn't say that, not a good topic to start as a new member

[billebob5]

William - excellent post!  congrats to you guys and your excellent program at Webster.  while I live in IL I have ventured over to your lake several times.  No ski's yet, but plenty of follows keep me coming back for more.

[Jigmup]

I have been dying to try Musky fishing and luckily I have a friend who is darn good at it. I just want to get a follow and I will consider it a good first outing! I don't know any of the ins and outs of catching, handling and releasing Muskies. With that said I wouldn't dare deter anyone from fishing for them because of this. I don't want to see fish die because of these reasons but how would someone learn if not through practice.

Reading will certainly expedite the curve but what happens when someone has an accident with regards to the proper techniques? Ridicule is probably not the way to further the individuals education. In fact, tongue lashing may just discourage the person to the point that he gives up honing his skills and then when he does catch one by accident, he handles the fish with even less regard and inevitably compromises the musky's health! I'm not saying that anyone here is coming down on another but I think we may be able to put up some ideas of "what to do" if someone happens in to one while angling for them or hits one by dumb luck!

A long time ago I was fishing Webster for perch and had an experience with a Musky that I will never forget. Let me say now that this will be hard for you die hard musky fisherman to stomach so please go easy on me and if you choose to bash, then that's fine too but this is just to emphasize the point made earlier. Anyway, I was perch fishing with a buddy and we had 4 lines out on a weed line with ice jigs under bobbers with minnows on them. I had a fish take off and knew it wasn't a perch. After the fish, that I never saw, tangled the other 3 lines and I painstakingly untangled them, I fought the fish for a good 15 minutes and got it to the boat. I netted the Musky with a walleye dip net (big no no) got him in the boat and marveled at how I landed a 32 inch fish on 4lb test line. Then the excitement set in! The fish went through a tantrum that absolutely destroyed the inside of my boat. It knocked over the minnow bucket, beat every rod into the side and floor of the boat, spilled and slimed all tackle boxes and every time I tried to grab it, it flailed horribly, letting me know it was the freshwater version of a Barracuda!

After all this, I remembered old school photos of dudes holding muskies and I did what I thought was for the best regarding my equipment. I plunged my thumb and middle finger into both eye sockets and heaved the beast back into the drink.

Ok, bash away  but the point I'm making is that us musky novices need advice to ensure that we accelerate in our learning, handle fish properly, and ensure that Musky fanatics retain good fisheries!

[wax_worm]

Good story.....They are not fun to bring into a boat that is for sure.  A craddle is best but most not fishing for them don't have room for one or the money to buy one on the chance the happen across a ski while fishing for something else.  I thought when you got to the eyeball part you were going to say you pulled out the club and used itto keep it from thrashing everywhere like guys use on Steelhead and Kings when they plan on keeping them.  Netting one with a lure with trebles is a bad idea too!  They will death roll in the net and give you a mess that takes forever to get undone.

[kayakjoe]

    I sat here reading this thread and as I continued to read I expected  The musky world to attack full force  It could have been  worse than it actually was. I am about 1.5 hrs. to the chain and Webster and make the run when I can --  I  am fortunate and grateful    to own a boat , purchase those 20 dollar lures  and spend time with my 11 yr old son who prefers to musky fish over crappie and bass- Like many of you fisherman I have spent my hard earned  dollars on equipment to partake in the sport for which I love -  4 wheeler for ice fishing, shelters, augers ect, ect   ----, boat, musky rods, lures, etc. etc.    THE STATEMNT  MUSKY FISHING IS FOR A SELECT ELITE FEW IS RIDICULOUS  - We are the select few who spend hundreds of hours casting for a fish that may only follow your bait on occasion  There are many resources available to understand musky fishing -- a simple subscription to Musky Hunter magazine is a great start -- I choose to Musky fish  I am not privileged !! I save my money, beg and barter with my wife for those opportunities to chase the musky and on occasion I am rewarded for all of my hard work !!!     Good Luck  I hope you get the  chance to tangle with the beast !!!! On or off the Ice

[bobberbill]

Caught my share of Tiger's. By far some of the best eating fish I've had. Those were the days of 30" limits. Now, Mich is 42" and a limit of 1 keeper. Pulled all my muskie's thru a 6" hole. Tip: drill the hole on an angle, not straight down. 20, 30°, doesn't take much. Fish will slide right up the ramp..Tiger's are pretty much gone now, but with the Canadian strain, and the new Great Lakes strain, muskie hunting is pretty exciting.. (saw a couple on camera thru the ice this season).

[seahawk27]

I musky fish and even I wouldn't say that, not a good topic to start as a new member


 ok man your the god of this forum no need to pm message me telling me that "even You wouldnt write what i put"

[Fish Stalker]

Anyone who kills Muskies isnt a real fishermen.

And what do you consider a REAL fisherman?
I fish every chance I get and if I am not eating it then back in the drink it goes. If one of those fish doesn't happen to make it does that make me a terrible guy?
I have never caught a musky before and if I was out fishing and happened to hook one and didn't know how to handle it properly and that fish dies, does that make me a terrible guy?
Who made you the GOD of musky?

[seahawk27]

And what do you consider a REAL fisherman?
I fish every chance I get and if I am not eating it then back in the drink it goes. If one of those fish doesn't happen to make it does that make me a terrible guy?
I have never caught a musky before and if I was out fishing and happened to hook one and didn't know how to handle it properly and that fish dies, does that make me a terrible guy?
Who made you the GOD of musky?

sorry to get ur pannies in a bunch but what i meant was the people who fillet them. There are plenty other fish to get meat from