The issue is not on the 2008 spring hearing ballot, and no muskie size limit changes on the bay fishery are planned for the upcoming season. Though supported in 25 of those counties, the measure failed to win endorsement from the Great Lakes Committee of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. 29 session.Īnglers in 26 counties voted on a resolution at the 2007 spring fish and game hearings calling for a 54-inch muskie size limit on the Green Bay fishery. Rowe said information is needed on the value of older muskies to natural spawning success and the possibility aging may increase susceptibility to diseases like VHS.īetka said he supports a 54-inch minimum limit, would like to see funds designated for research into the bay's muskie population and increased education of muskie anglers on the need for catch-and-release fishing. Those fish will be critical to the future of the muskie fishery.
The survivors, he said, are likely to be fish whose genetic makeup allows them to withstand the disease. "If we eliminate harvest, it's going to allow more muskies to survive the virus." "If VHS hits southern Green Bay and the Fox River during the spring when muskies spawn, it's going to kill a lot of fish," Betka contends. Lawrence River have been affected by VHS. Muskie populations in Michigan's Lake St. The foreign-based disease, which can be fatal to a wide variety of fish species, has been found in Lake Michigan and the Lake Winnebago system. Tom Betka, a Green Bay physician and muskie angler with an undergraduate degree in aquatic biology, believes a moratorium should be placed on muskie harvest until the potential impact of viral hemmorhagic septicemia is known. However, the oldest muskie the DNR has examined is a 12-year-old, 50½-inch fish.Īs a publicly funded state agency, Rowe said, the DNR must ask whether its role should be developing a recreational fishery where an angler can make the decision to keep or release a 50-inch muskie - the fish of a lifetime for many - or restrict the harvest further to encourage a higher trophy standard.ĭr. Muskie have been known to survive 25 years under optimal conditions. The fishery was initiated with stocking in 1989, and any remnants from that effort are 18 years old. Rowe said it is unknown how long Green Bay muskies will live and the reasonable length to which they will grow. "I'm open to a 54-inch minimum," said David Rowe, Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist at Green Bay and the person responsible for managing the spotted muskie fishery, "but I just want more biological information before making any decision." Rumors of a single angler keeping several legal fish in a year has sparked indignation among many in the muskie-angling fraternity and is feeding the groundswell to raise the minimum size. No one knows the number of 50-plus-inch muskies in the bay, the number of those fish caught or the number kept. A 50-inch muskie from Green Bay is only 10 (or) 11 years old." "A handful of people are causing a lot of damage. "Lots of 50-inch fish are being killed," Maina said. Numerous fish exceeding that minimum have been taken in the past year, leading Maina and other veteran muskie fishermen to call for a boost in the size limit to 54 inches. "This area compares to Georgian Bay in Canada" for its ability to produce huge fish, Maina said.Ī muskie caught by an angler in the bay or river must be at least 50 inches long before it may be kept. The large size of the bay, coupled with an extensive forage base, has enabled muskie to reach impressive size faster than their inland counterparts. "This is absolutely developing into a world-class muskie fishery attracting muskie anglers from all over," said Pete Maina, a former Hayward-area muskie fishing guide who hosts televised fishing shows and will be a featured speaker at the forum. (manufacturer of Joe Bucher Lures), arranged for the session, which will consider the future of muskie fishing on the bay and steps necessary to preserve and enhance those possibilities. Jeff Tilkens, a Green Bay resident and part-owner of Roberts Outdoors Inc. 29, at the Green Bay Yacht Club, located at the mouth of the Fox River adjacent to the public boat ramp. Green Bay - Muskie fishing: Is the big one big enough?ġ2/09/07 By Jim Lee Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers 71 surprisingly rapid resurgence of Great Lakes spotted muskie in the waters of Green Bay and the lower Fox River has spawned muskie fishing fever along with muskie fishing fears.Īspects of both will be discussed at a special public meeting set for 1 p.m.