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Indiana Muskie, Indiana Fishing
Anglers who say
Indiana's Lake Webster is among the Midwest's best muskie fishing lakes now have
official numbers to back their boast. Indiana DNR fish measured more than 50 inches
long.
"That's way more muskies than we originally thought were out
there," says Indiana DNR fisheries biologist Jed Pearson. Pearson and his crew
recently
completed a three-week-long muskie trapping and tagging project
at Lake Webster.
Between March 29 and April 14, 2002 Indiana DNR biologists
set traps in Webster Lake to capture sexually ripe male and female muskies for
the Indiana state muskie
stocking program, to estimate the density of adult
muskies in the lake, and to examine the fish's long-term survival and growth
rates. The biologists caught 951 muskies at 13 different trapping sites. One
trap in the northwest corner of the lake caught 299 muskie. Another trap in the
northeast
corner of the lake caught 210 muskie. "We caught 72 muskie in
one trap in just one day alone," says Pearson. "That same trap produced 46 the
day before and 28 the day after. "Pearson says the density of Indiana muskie is more
than six fish per acre. "Most lakes are considered good muskie lakes if they
have one adult muskie per acre."
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our Indiana fishing club by clicking onto the link at the left |
Trapped muskie was measured, tagged
with a small PIT tag inserted near the fish's dorsal fin, and then released near
the center of the lake. PIT (passive integrated transponder) tags allow
biologists to identify individual fish. By noting the number of tagged muskie
recaptured during the trapping
operation, biologists can mathematically
estimate the overall number of muskie in a lake.
Muskellunge (nick-named
muskie) are long, slim, predatory game fish native to the Great Lakes region and
parts of the Mississippi and Ohio River drainage systems. The state-record
muskie caught by a sport fisherman weighed 42.5 pounds. The average size of an
Indiana muskellunge is 10-20 pounds.
Some muskie trapped by Pearson and his crew
were kept to support the Indiana State's muskie stocking program. In the fall and early
winter, the DNR
stocks a bunch of Indiana lakes with young
muskie.
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There aren’t many muskie anglers anywhere in the world
who have landed a 50-inch class muskie, but Indiana has one now and, Indiana’s
fisheries chief says there are more monsters out there to be caught and that the
next two or three years could produce great muskie fishing in several Hoosier
lakes and flowages.
“The first one I caught here in Indiana was up at Lake
Webster. It was May 1st, it snowed and nothing was
biting. About 11 o’clock Jim Bagnoli (Indiana Muskie Hunters) asked me what I
wanted to do. We decided to fish our way back to ramp.
I tied on a six inch bait and trolled it behind the boat.
He said they would want a bigger bait than that. Heck, I
thought it was a pretty big bait. Then, wham, the fight was on! It
was big and strong. I just wanted to see the fish.
Then it positioned a good way from the boat, and I saw its
back was as big around as my thigh,” said fisheries chief, Bill James.
James added that they had no landing net, but another boat
came to them, handed over a net and they landed the fish. It was a
44.5 inch behemoth, and as big a muskie as you are likely to catch anywhere,
including Wisconsin, Minnesota or the St. Lawrence River.
Lake Webster, located in Koskiusko Co., is Indiana’s premier
muskie lake at this time. The current state record fish, Indiana’s
first record muskellunge to hit the 50-inch mark, came from Webster last
year. Darrin Conley of Winona Lake took the 42.5-lb. fish from
Webster Lake on April 1, 2002.
According to James, Lake Webster, located south of Wawasee,
has been stocked for 20 years and now a nationally recognized muskie spot,
holding more than just one 50-incher.
Russ Warye’s book, “Premier Waters of North America,” lists
Webster as one of the nation’s top muskellunge lakes. That’s a
pretty big leap into muskie angling lore for a state where native muskies all
but disappeared in the 1960s.
Indiana’s muskellunge stocking program now includes 10 lakes,
three of which are south of U.S. 40 and within easy driving range of this
newspaper’s circulation area. The stocked lakes and the numbers
stocked in 2002 are:
*Lake Tippecanoe, Kuskiosko Co.: 1,125 fish stocked, paid for
my Hoosier Muskie Hunters.
*Barbee Chain, Kuskiosko Co.: 4,250
*Ball Lake, Steuben Co.: 700
*Skinner Lake, Noble Co.:625 muskies
*Loon Lake, Noble Co.: 1,110
*Bruce Lake, Fulton Co.: 1,976
*Palestine Lake, near Warsaw: 1,450
*Plover Lake, Atterbury FWA: 536
*Sandpiper Pit, Johnson Co.: 136
*Bass Lake, Sullivan Co.: 1,760 (Bass Lake has
shown good muskie potential, and it is just an hour drive from
Bloomington.)
*Brookville Reservoir, Franklin and Union cos.:
14,568.
The total number of young muskies stocked in 2002 was 32,106,
an all-time record said James.
According to our fisheries chief, 11,000 muskies went into
Brookville in 2001. He called it “our shock absorber lake,”
meaning that any surplus muskies produced in the state’s two muskie hatcheries,
Fawn River and East Fork, go to Brookville. The recommended
stocking level is five fish per acre, and that’s how many muskies went into the
other stocked lakes. To stock Brookville at that rate would
require 25,000 young fish.
Keep in mind that Cataract Lake received surplus walleye for
years, and it has produced good walleye fishing now for several
years. Brookville reservoir has the potential to produce big
muskies. Muskie anglers have already caught fish in the 40-inch
class there, and James predicted tremendous muskie fishing potential there in
the next three to five years.
Indiana’s stock comes from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio and
Pennsylvania. The Hoosier Muskie Hunters bought their fish from a
Minnesota hatchery, and they were under 9 inches long for stocking in
2002. Muskies from the East Fork Hatchery came out in two groups,
one batch at 8 inches, and the other at 9.5 inches. The Fawn River
muskies came out at an average 10.5 inches.
When stocking any game fish into existing fisheries, bigger
is always better, said James, and our hatchery mangers have learned a lot in the
past few years about successful muskie stocking.
“This was the first year we were able to finish our fish with
minnows. All of our full production fish were fed a diet of live
forage for a minimum of 30 days before they were stocked. In the
past, they were raised on dry pellets. Results were less than
spectacular,” he added. By finishing the young muskies on minnows,
they learn to feed on what they will find in the wild.
Now, young muskies are moved from dry food tanks to
minnow-infested ponds where they don’t have to look very hard for food.
James said that 95 percent of the young fish placed in the minnow ponds
survived to be stocked, a phenomenal survival rate.
| How to Catch
Musky:
Musky, also called the
Muskellunge, is an apex predator and feared by all other fish in the lake. They
have a ferocious appetite and a competitive attitude, which makes them a fun
fish to catch. Having the reputation of being a big tough fish means there is
also a lot of folklore surrounding them. You may have heard that you have to
troll really fast and use really big lures to catch them. This is not always
true.
Trolling Speed: Musky hunters
find success trolling faster than they would for Walleye but there is a limit. A
good Walleye speed is around 1.5-miles per hour. Many people fishing for Musky
will troll as fast as 10-miles per hour but the prime speed is between 4 and
6-miles per hour. You will catch Musky trolling really fast and generally the
really big Musky hit the faster baits but trolling at a slower speed enables you
to catch Musky of all sizes. |
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Size of Lures: Traditional
folklore also tells people new to Musky fishing that you have to use really big
lures. The truth is Musky will hit any size lure. Tons of big Musky get caught
on little jigs used by people who are Walleye fishing. People trolling with both
small, medium and big lures catch Musky. The size of the lure should be based on
the amount of weeds in the area or the depth you want to fish at. Lower Manitou
is a clear lake and not choked with weeds so you can use bigger lures if you
want. At the same time, being a clear lake, smaller lures have higher visibility
thus you do not have to use big lures. The choice is up to you as it really does
not matter. Musky on Lower Manitou are hungry and hit everything.
With open water, try trolling
with bigger lures. The most popular big trolling lures for Musky are Willy
Lures, Ziggy Lures, Swim Wizzes, large spinner baits or long shallow-running
Rapalas. Perch-color and Fire-Tiger are good during the day and red seems to be
good in the evening. There are many different colors and some fisherpersons find
unique color combinations that work well. In a lake with a high Smallmouth Bass
population like Monroe reservoir, try using brown or green colored lures.
When in weeds it's better to
use smaller lures. 5 or 6-inch Original Floating Rapalas (the skinny ones) or
Thundersticks work well. The jointed J-11 Rapalas are also an excellent lure and
seem to catch Musky of any size. Spinner baits can be very affective as
well.
Trick: If you have two or
three people trolling in the boat, try having everyone troll with the same lure
and at the same distance from the boat. This creates the look of a school of
fish, which is very attractive to a Musky.
Casting: If you want to cast
into patches of Water Cabbage or between lines of thick weeds, various kinds of
crank-baits work well. Suick's and Believers are very popular. Large
spinner-baits are also very effective.
Weather: Sunny hot days or
windy cold days with rain; it does not seem to matter. Many fish start their
feeding cycles when atmospheric pressure changes. The Musky seem to like it when
the pressure and weather stay consistent, no matter how nice or miserable it is
on the lake.
Steel Leaders & Line: You
must use steel leaders at all times. It's best to use black leaders as sometimes
a Musky will see a silver shine ahead of the lure and hit the top of the leader
and bite through the line. It does happen. The line you use should be based on
the size of the fishing rod you use. In open water with a light-to-medium action
rod, many people use 10 to 12-pound test line. In areas where there are thicker
weeds, 12 to 15-pound test can be used. What is really getting popular is the
braded line. You can get 15-pound test, which is as thin as 6-pound. If you plan
on doing a lot of Musky fishing and you think your fishing line is going to see
a lot of abuse, then try going to the 20-pound braded. It will last longer and
stay strong.
The secret to Musky fishing is
to have patience and try everything. You can fish for hours and hours and not
catch anything and then start hitting them like crazy for an hour or two and
then it stops dead again. Some people call Musky the fish of 10,000 casts. This
may be true on some lakes but not on Webster Lake. Webster Lake is one of the
top Musky Lakes in the midwest. Your chances will also increase if you employ
the services of one of our professional guides. We do recommend Vince Wiericks
Muskie Guide Service
|
Feel free to join
our Indiana fishing club by clicking onto the link at the left |
|
Avoid Serious Injury from Pike and Muskie
Teeth:
Pike and Muskie are apex
predators and are the most enjoyable game fish to catch. If you have no
experience with these fish, you should know that their teeth are as sharp as
surgical scalpels and can slice through your skin without you even feeling
it.
It is imperative that you
never under any circumstances put your hand or fingers in the mouth of a Muskie
or Pike. Even if you are not fishing for Muskie or Pike you will come across
them and catch them on Webster lake. You need to bring extra long pliers or lure
grips that are specially designed for de-hooking Muskie and Pike. You can find
them in most fishing tackle stores. A proper fish holding tool is also a big
help when taking out hooks and lures. You can see from some of our Muskie
pictures that guests are holding up Muskie with a proper fish holding tool.It should be noted that Webster lake is also a great place for Indiana catfishing, Indiana panfishing, Indiana crappie, Indiana bass, Indiana muskie and bream
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| How to Catch Northern Pike in
Indiana:
Northern Pike hit just about
any lure. They are the easiest fish to catch. Here are a couple of tips to
maximize the amount of strikes and some ideas for really big trophy Pike.
The very best bait is a large
chub or sucker minnow but unfortunately, many lakes do not allow minnows in an
effort to stop invading species. |
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Lures:
Traditionally the best lures and probably the most popular lures are the
Red-&-White Daredevil and the Yellow 5-of-Diamonds Daredevil. You use the
red in clear water and the yellow in murky water. Spinnerbaits, Crankbaits,
Bucktails and Williams Weedless Spoons also work well. When using a Daredevil,
try casting up high and just before the lure hits the water, jerk it towards you
so the lure slaps the surface. This slap sound seems to trigger a better feeding
response from bigger Pike.
Pike are also well known for
hitting surface lures. Jitterbugs and Spooks are excellent for Pike. A growing
trend in Pike fishing, which is getting very popular, is fly-fishing for Pike.
With large Pike flies, you can drop the fly in an opening in the middle of thick
weeds, which would not be practical for normal lures.
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| Where are the
Pike:
Pike can be found everywhere.
You will find them in the thick weeds or off shoals and even in the streams that
run into the lake. Big Trophy Pike generally stay in areas where they can ambush
Indiana carp, Indiana Walleye, Indiana bass, and small Indiana Pike.
Time of Year: In many Northern
Ontario lakes Northern Pike will be shallow in the spring and summer and then
start to go deep in mid-August. This is not a big issue on Lower Manitou Lake.
Many Pike seem to stay shallow while others follow bass, trout and baitfish down
to the edge of drop-offs. In the late summer and fall, either fish 15 feet deep
off of shoals and ridges or right up in the really shallow weedy water. Some
pike go really deep and you can catch them using Lake Trot
techniques.
Below is a list of prime spots
for big trophy Northern Pike: Points leading into weedy bays Along Wild Rice
beds where there are lots of Walleyes Stream or river mouth In the thick cabbage
weed or other big leaf weeds Under lily Pads Narrows between lakes or open water
where Walleyes migrate Drop offs close to thick shallow weeds Deep Ridges Shoals
or rocky points where the bass and Walleye hang out is a good spot. If the
Walleyes or bass stop feeding, it may mean a big Pike has started to feed. This
is when you switch to something big and flashy. |
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Indiana muskie fishing 
