Premium
Contribution of Tiger Muskellunge to the Sport Fishery of a Small, Centrarchid‐Dominated Impoundment
Author(s) -
Storck Ted W.,
Newman Dennis L.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8675(1992)012<0213:cotmtt>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - fishery , micropterus , fishing , pike , tiger , trophy , bass (fish) , biology , geography , fish <actinopterygii> , archaeology , computer security , computer science
We used creel and draining censuses to measure angling catch, harvest, and hooking mortality of tiger muskellunge (female muskellunge Esox masquinongy × male northern pike E. lucius ) in a 6. l ‐hectare Illinois impoundment dominated by largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides and bluegill Lepomis macrochirus . The vulnerability of tiger muskellunge to angling produced a substantial catch‐and‐release fishery: 226 hybrids stocked in 1981 and 1982 were caught 388 times (1.7 times per fish) during four fishing seasons, and 27 others were recovered in the draining census in 1985. Only four legal fish (≥762 mm in total length) were harvested, but this number might have increased to 29 (13% of the number stocked) if the minimum‐length limit had been reduced to 710 mm. Strict enforcement of a 762‐mm minimum‐length limit failed to generate a productive and cost‐effective trophy fishery, because growth was slow and many hybrids died from natural or hooking mortality before they reached legal size, The cost of each trophy fish harvested at Ridge Lake was prohibitively high (US $100); a more reasonable investment of about $1.00 was required for each fish that contributed to the catch‐and‐release fishery. More than 40% of the hybrids stocked in 1981 and 1982 survived the first winter, and at least 19% were alive in April 1985. Twelve percent of tiger muskellunge caught by anglers died within 24 h of capture, Hooking mortality increased as water temperature increased and was greater in the last year of the study (22%) than in the previous 3 years (8–10%). Hooking mortality was not affected by type of bait (live or artificial) or size offish. Predation by tiger muskellunge on bluegill did not reduce bluegill density and hence had no apparent effect on growth, size structure, or angling catch of bluegill.