Fellows Lake Muskies

[hknfsh]

Ditto muskie bob !!! Missouri isn't known for it's muskie fishing.....bass and crappie are what people here fish for !! Use to be a gem for them here too ! No one ask the conservation department to stock and manage fellows lake with muskies anyway. Besides....I think it's ruining the fishery there too ! I suspect they are eating anything they can run down....seems you don't catch the bass and crappie like you used to. We had some whites last winter that had huge slash scars on their sides.....hummmm.....wonder what did that ?

[Lancer09]

There are PLENTY of lakes in the are that have bass and crappie but No musky..God forbid one if the few fisheries in the state be managed as such.

[Muskie Bob]

I seriously doubt muskies eat any thing they can run down. Other than grass carp, I doubt if there isn't any fish that won't eat another fish from time to time. If not, why would lures be made to look similar to other fish? And, why would anyone ever want to use live bait?

Even action increases the chance for a fish to attack another fish. Work a lure like it is wounded and see if it doesn't attract fish.

I mostly fish Pomme de Terre where muskies were stocked in Missouri. Even when crappie fishing is really good, there are those who blame muskies for their poor luck or ability to catch crappie on one given day. Funny, but I talked to a couple of guys running spring muskie nets one year and was told there were lots of crappie in the nets with the muskies. No signs of the crappie being injured from a muskie.

Many, many years ago when the crappie limit was 30 per day, there were locals who were saying muskies were eating all the crappie. Of course, some of them were taking 2 or 3 limits out each day as many days they could fish. Then, they were saying the crappie is down. Well, obviously the places they fish were more than likely a little low on crappie.

Actually, I've read muskies prefer shad over any game fish. And, when they chase them, it can cause a splash here or there.

Oh yeah, I like to muskie fish and I release the ones I'm lucky enough to catch. Each one is a thrill to me. If I didn't fish for muskies, I'd fish for bass and crappie, as they probably are popular game fish in Missouri. Oh, I do fish some for them. But, if I fished for them all the time, I would keep my fair share. Hum, I wonder if I would keep more fish than what a muskie ever takes on occasions?

As to Missouri's muskie program, Fellows Lake is one of the best. Locals should be glad the Conservation Department chose the lake to stock muskies.

[Feathers and Fins]

I hear the same argument about Striped Bass all the time and yet every ounce of evidence shows they are not the " eat everything out of a lake machines " the claimers say they are.

I do not know as I have stated the Biology of a Musky but it would seem to me they are just another fish and probably are not killing all the fish in a lake, that would take an ungodly sized population of them to destroy a lakes biomass. I would tend to lean toward over harvest by fishermen of the more preferred eating species as the most likely suspect.

Handling Musky granted can be a issue by anglers but unless you continue to try to inform the novice angler it will not change, MDC and Marina officials should attempt to do more if possible even if its just in signage or a brochure to be handed out when entering the area. Florida has gone to great lengths to protect Tarpon and my suspicions based on what I do know about Musky is they are fragile just like Tarpon and it would seem prudent by MDC to possibly follow suit with Florida in how they care for hooked/landed Tarpon.

1. require a Musky Tag if you wish to keep one ( I base this off from my understanding few people keep them but some may want to so for those who wish to keep one require a tag ) this tag money could be directly used to help fund stocking programs in musky lakes for them or baitfish. If they did it in the form of a stamp many anglers may purchase it just as a nice keep sake and still be aiding in conservation. Think of it Much like the Federal Duck Stamp where many buy it simply as a conservation tool.

2. Require no Musky ( excluding those to be kept ) be raised out of the water. ( I know some will argue you have to because of their teeth ) I say horse manure to that I have caught and released countless sharks without ever taking them out of the water. There are tools designed to remove hooks from a safe distance.

Having so few lakes in the State with them is a true Unique Opportunity and special resource and should be managed and treated as such. From an outsiders perspective I just have to smile and wish AGFC would give us this unique opportunity, you are lucky to have them and they need special treatment as they are a special fish to have in these southern waters.

[hknfsh]

Geeezzzz.....when it rains it pours huh?

[pruett417]

Ditto muskie bob !!! Missouri isn't known for it's muskie fishing.....bass and crappie are what people here fish for !! Use to be a gem for them here too ! No one ask the conservation department to stock and manage fellows lake with muskies anyway. Besides....I think it's ruining the fishery there too ! I suspect they are eating anything they can run down....seems you don't catch the bass and crappie like you used to. We had some whites last winter that had huge slash scars on their sides.....hummmm.....wonder what did that ?

Studies have proven over and over, that musky stocking programs have NO detrimental effect on populations of other species in the particular lake. Educate yourself before, like many before you, start throwing around accusations that Musky have ruined a fishery. Funny thing is, while flyrodding Musky at Fellows Lake we always end up with a proverbial ton of fly caught bass, not Musky! These fish are stocked in such relatively low numbers that the impact on the fishery is very minimal. If you want to talk about predatation lets talk about about your wonderful bass species, I would argue until we are both tired that bass have just as much impact if not more than the Musky at Fellows Lake.....all of your exclamation points tell me that you have an agenda.

I would like to add this, real science, from real researchers.......

“If muskie stocking resulted in a negative impact on other fish populations, we would have seen a pattern emerge,” “But that didn’t happen. Instead, we found great variability. When looking at individual species in individual lakes, our nets caught significantly more fish in 16 cases and significantly fewer fish in nine cases. Our nets caught essentially the same number of fish in the other 194 cases. “The lack of consistent negative changes suggests muskie and other species generally coexist quite well.”

[pruett417]

I am going to contact Dave Woods with the MDC, and ask permission to share some excerpts from emails between him and I, that I think would do wonders to answer some of these questions

[pruett417]

I apologize for being MIA on this thread since I was the one that started it....but it's Fall and I've been too busy out hunting these rampaging killers.....

[hknfsh]

Gee Pruett.....appreciate the loyalty to have for the Musky program but lighten up already ! I've no "agenda" as you say...just an opinion like the rest of you. No offense intended.

[Kevin Vam Dan]

I love the topic of muskies decimating the lake. I'm surprised there are ANY fish left in the lake! One day at the dock there was a guy going off about the muskies eating all the crappie. There was another guy at the dock that responded by telling him that he ate a lot more crappie than the muskies ever could. How true that statement was.

Nearly every musky survey indicates that muskies primarily predate on non-gamefish species. Up north the primary forage is ciscoes, tullibees, and whitefish. I have never seen a study conducted in Missouri, but I would be willing to bet money that muskies are mainly predating on shad, carp, and suckers. The one thing I know for sure...is that they have not been feeding on anything I have been throwing.