Fellows Lake Muskies

[pruett417]

Received word this evening that the MDC is listening, and positive things are happening and will be in place soon......education is the key, and MDC is on board with those ideals.

[Kevin Vam Dan]

pruett417,

Thanks for the update. As I stated in my previous post, a lot of the education needs to be directed at not just the casual fisherman, but the marina owners/workers. If you look closely at your picture, the gentlemen holding the fish has a MDC hat on. He works for the marina and the MDC...yet he is still posing by the bragging (killing) board. I would be willing to wager money that fish did not survive...it might have swam off, but with water temps as high as they have been and then not only the catch/fight/unhooking process...that fish was transported all the way back to the marina for a "bragging" photo...highly doubt it made it. The people at the marina often encourage people to bring back their muskies so they can get pictures in front of the trophy board. These fish are dying after all the hoopla (think back to Larry Rafferty's giant). I always make sure the camera is ready before that fish every comes out of the net/water. A few quick photos and maybe a measurement and then the fish is back in the drink.

Fellows has proven it can grow the largest muskies this state has seen. We need to be on the cutting edge of musky conservation. Just look at the states up north and what has happened to their musky populations. MN has gone to a 48" length limit, with talk of expanding it to 54"! And look at the world class fish that state produces. Same with MI, WI, and Canada. All are moving forward and realizing how these fish need to be protected (Ontario already has a 54" length limit on most musky waters).

Hopefully the MDC will listen and help out (bump those lenght limits way the heck up!!!). And I'm all for restrictions on musky fishing during the warm water period, but I highly doubt that will occur. Keep preaching it pruett!

KVD

[Hunter91]

I have caught a few musky here on Fellows, on Pomme and several in Canada. I believe in catch and release of musky as well as bass. I have been on Fellows a lot in the past two weeks due to some unexpected free time. I have yet to see one floating musky but have seen several live musky.

What water temp do you consider catching a musky in as ok? The water temp at Fellows this morn was 78.5. Would it be better just to keep a legal fish you catch in the summer after a long battle with them?

[Muskie Bob]

Someone came up with water surface temperature of 80 as the time to stop fishing for muskies during the summer. Why not 81 or 82 or ?? I guess it was just a number that someone experienced loosing muskies after a stressful fight. I feel there probably other factors involved too. How long a muskie is out of water and how it is handled may make a lot of difference regardless of the water temperature.

I believe someone previously listed some good tips on proper way to handle muskies for releasing.

I think the 80 is when the fish just aren't as active as they are when the water temperature is 75 or less. Of course, the air temperature and heat can be uncomfortable for the fishermen too.

Most of the other muskie fishermen I know will hold the muskie by the tail to release it. They hold onto it until they feel the muskie's strength of trying to swim away. Then, they release the muskie and watch to see how it swims away. If it starts to belly up, they grab the tail again and hold it for a couple of minutes before trying to release it. It use to be recommended to push and pull the muskie back and forth thinking to get its gills moving good. That is no longer recommended.

I've heard some will rub a muskie's belly gently. I'm not sure what that does, but it might be worth a try too. Some feel it is best to release one in shallow water of less than 10 feet. Of course, a lot of muskies are caught in less than 10 feet of water.

Some even keep the net in the water while unhooking the lure. A lot of muskie fishermen feel this really helps.

So, NO it would not be better to keep a legal fish after a long battle regardless of any temperature, with the exception of when it continues to belly up after a long battle. Proper handling and release should help muskies live to fight another day.

The only muskie I want to keep would be one that would exceed the current Missouri state record. The only reason is that I would like to see the record be from a lake where muskies are stocked on a regular bases.

Since muskies do not reproduce in Missouri, releasing a legal muskie gives someone else the opportunity to enjoy catching that muskie another day and it may have grown some by then. I promote and challenge others to make efforts to handle and release muskies. I hope I can catch one and release it for you to catch sometime in the future. Enjoy muskie fishing........

[Feathers and Fins]

Bob, Im not familiar with musky biology as I am with many fish but here is a suggestion I have used for Tarpon and other large gamefish when fishing by myself. I would keep a bilge pump on hand with a length of hose attached and when I would catch one I after pics and dehooking stick the hose at the fishes mouth and let it run until the fish decided to leave. Worked well on the Silver Kings might be an option for musky especially if you had a cradle for them. With a partner we just would put the boat in gear and drive till they revived good.

[pruett417]

I have caught a few musky here on Fellows, on Pomme and several in Canada. I believe in catch and release of musky as well as bass. I have been on Fellows a lot in the past two weeks due to some unexpected free time. I have yet to see one floating musky but have seen several live musky.

What water temp do you consider catching a musky in as ok? The water temp at Fellows this morn was 78.5. Would it be better just to keep a legal fish you catch in the summer after a long battle with them?

I personally think it's a great thing that you haven't seen any floating fish, and seeing live fish is always a great thing. I think a lot of anglers are listening, if a few have then these threads are in fact deemed a success. I completely agree with Bob, 80 degrees the Musky flies stay in the box, that seems to be the standard that most Musky fisherman use. The water temperature at Fellows is a bit cooler, we have had some cooler weather as well as all of the rain has done a lot to lower temps. It won't be long now before that magical time that Musky anglers live for "Fall", and if we are lucky we may experience a earlier start this season. As far as keeping a legal fish in the summer, if you started out to harvest a legal fish then by all means you have the right to harvest the fish.......if you plan on practicing catch and release, don't boat the fish, and if you do, do your best to revive the fish. A far better option is not fish for Musky during these warm periods.

[Kevin Vam Dan]

Muskie Bob,

I often wondered where the magic number of 80 came from too. And then a couple years ago I saw a piece by the musky guru, Rob Kimm. He said his research showed that when the water reached 78 degrees, musky mortality really started to rise. And it got worse with each degree higher. I guess 80 was decided on because it was a nice round number. Mr. Kimm says he quits fishing for muskies when the water hits that 78 mark.

KVD

[West Fork Jason]

" - "Most" musky anglers stop fishing these giants when the water temps increase, even in our northern states......why? To preserve their fisheries."

I totally agree with you Pruett.

We had a hot spell back in July where I saw some surface temps on the rivers as high as 87 degrees, all the way up here. That's the time put the 10 weights and the big flies away, and do a little small mouth fishing or head up to lake superior.

Things have cooled down nicely here, temps are right around 70 and the musky's are very happy! (And so are my clients...!)

[Bill Y.]

I stopped fishing for muskies in Missouri a few years ago because I don't like the way the conservation dept manages muskies, and because hardly anyone in Missouri knows how to handle a muskie after being caught. I've personally witnessed this many times, especially at Fellows Lake. Even trying to educate fishermen for many, many years has not worked and they don't get it or just don't care... Fellows Lake used to be a gem for muskies. One October day back in 2004 I caught 5 muskies over 40 inches. All were released immediately unharmed. But now that the lake is more popular, you got more people fishing for muskie, killing them and taking up space making it more difficult to catch a muskie. Plus, the new owners of the marina only care about making money and have allowed more recreational boating and pollution.

I only fish Illinois these days because they seem to have a better handle on managing muskies and Illinois fishermen are more knowledgeable about muskies because they have a lot more muskie lakes in Illinois than Missouri.

[Muskie Bob]

You should contact the Missouri conservation department with your concerns about how the muskie program is being managed. Just because another state has more muskie lakes doesn't make all their fishermen more knowledgeable about muskies.......what a statement????