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Lake Rathbun Walleye

Bukslayr

Bukslayr

New Member
So I just seen the news and they said that 40% of the walleye stock in the lake went over the dam. The DNR is shocking down stream and catching the walleye to return them to the lake.

Interesting!!!!

Why didnt they do this last year at Brushy Lake when many of the Muskies went over the spillway???

What are your thoughts???
 
hahaha!!!

Good question!

I can guarantee that fish went over the spillway this year as well, especially when the water was high!!

The bottom line is, Iowa Muskies are more valuable to the state as an "exportable crop" than a resource to it's residents.

there are a couple lakes where muskies are in "abundant" numbers and almost catchable, but most lakes stocked with muskies are either too early in their program to tell, or just too lightly stocked.

funny situation if you ask me!

wanna find muskies in fishable populations, go north.
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The average joe is going to put more value on a walleye than a musky. You two are not in the "average joe" category when it comes to fishing... that is NOT an insult, just a fact. Most guys want to take something home and fillet that sucker out and eat it. Walleyes fit that bill and are high on the priority list for "most" Iowa fishermen. You can grow a 14-16 inch walleye in about 2 years and have a sizeable population of them as well. A musky has to be what, 50 inches long to keep? How long does that take? How many 14-16 inch walleye do they eat getting there? Walleyes are also cheaper to fish for. A decent pole and reel, some hooks and a chunk of worm. Some musky lures cost more than some of my pole set ups.

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Not trying to stir it up TO much, just present some facts that I was privy to when we did the walleye spawn up at Clear Lake. It's easy to see why the DNR puts more stock in walleyes, supply and demand of the regular joe fisherman.

Come on THA4... I know you want to argue... /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif
 
I got some facts for you brother Muddy.

On average Musky fishermen will spend much more to travel to catch their fish of choice. especially since they HAVE to travel to catch their species. the gear it takes to outfit a devoted ski angler is by far more so than that of a walleye fisherman. that is no dis, but the gear suited for skiis is redeclious!!!

sure there are more walleye fishermen in Iowa, but if more value was put on skiis, more iowa anglers would pursue them, not to mention spend money to do so thus boosting the local economy!

also, an occasional walleye gets nabbed by a musky, but their primary forage is rough fish and that is because they are usually the most abundant food source in the system. so when you hear walleye fishermen complaining about the muskies eating all the walleyes, nothing is further from the truth. and they are not population depleating, eating machines.

Limits. in Iowa a 40 inch fish is the legal keeping limit! that is nonsense if you ask me especially since the musky fishery is a "Trophy Fishery" you ask any musky fisherman they will tell you 40 inches is a great fish, but not a trophy by a long shot. the DNR states that the 40 inch minimum is in place so that the everyday angler can keep a trophy fish like a musky if they catch one! and i assure you, most folks who catch a 40 inch fish will keep it mainly for the sheer novilty aspect! if a 40 inch fish is kept, or even mishandled while out of water they will most likely never reach trophy stage!

i have had this conversation with several "Fisheries Biologist" and i honestly think they misunderstand the full value of muskies and their fishermen. there is more value in walleyes, that is evident, but i think more value should be put into muskies as they are a valuable part of the resource. i also think the stocking numbers could be twice of what they are if not more as all of the fish i have caught/seen caught have been very fat and healthy. so the forage is available to support larger populations.

my biggest issue is the hours to catch ratio. in iowa a serious angler could expect to see 1 fish per 80 hours of fishing. (this does not count the IGL's) in Wisconsin and MN 20-25 hours per fish is considered ok. so i think the "Trophy Fisherey" that is currently in progress is a joke and needs reworked.

but like you said Matt, the DNR puts work where the most stock lies and unfortunately us musky guys are not anywhere near the top of that list.....
 
I really have nothing more to add that would keep this going in the right direction so I'll simply shrug my shoulders and let it go.

That being said, what are the water quality parameters that musky's prefer? I hear that Minnesota and Wisconsin are the top musky states, though I cannot verify that with solid data. Is this because these states have much higher water quality than other states? If so, compare those lakes to Iowa lakes. How well would a musky do in the "average" Iowa lake that is silt ridden and has horrible land use practices on the major tributaries?

As far as I know Clear Lake, Pleasant Creek, Rathbun, some of the Okobojis (?), and Big Spring (I think by Des Moines) are the main lakes in Iowa that have musky fisheries. Were they singled out because they have better water quality? Would it even be financially feasible to pursue creating musky fisheries in other lakes that are in less than desirable areas?

Now, that pretty much opens up a can of worms on a whole new subject because I think you guys were concerned about them not keeping up on already existing musky fisheries, yah?

I'm pretty sure it's because musky's eat walleyes. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
I think that the reason that the fisheries are so much better in Minnesota and Wisconsin is because they have done more to create better musky fishing. Stocking is the primary effort to increase the quality of musky fishing...They are a native river fish, so the DNR in any state has put some considerable effort into their stocking programs. I believe that Minnesota and Wisconsin simply value their musky fishing more than a lot of the other midwest states do.
I believe that Iowa has several other lakes besides the few that currently get stocked that would benefit from a musky stocking program. I don't believe that Rathbun is currently being stocked with musky and I would love it if they would choose to start putting the top freshwater predator in more places in Iowa. However, it would take consideralbe effort for the DNR to stock either Rathbun or Red Rock to a level that would maintain a fishable population of muskies.
Iowa is not a musky fishing state and I believe that there have been lots of hours of phone calls, letters, and meetings with the DNR by concerned musky fisherman around the state that would prove that even though we are a passionate bunch, we aren't every going to have the quality of our northern neighbors because the DNR isn't going to expend the resources and energy to make Iowa a great musky fishing destination. My only qualm is that we produce many times over the number of muskies that we stock in our state. There is report that I saw that said that we keep about 10% of the muskies that are born in Iowa to stock our own lakes. The rest we sell to other places or trade them for other fish...

Walleyes taste better than muskies! /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
 
Guys,

Is there any other Musky lakes south of Iowa??

Like Missouri, Kansas, or any where else.
Or does Musky fishing just remain in the upper Central Part of the United States?
 
Pomme de Terre in MO

Cave Run in Kentucky

there is another one or two in Mo and KY but i dont know their names by heart.

its a never ending battle, Jonny hit it on the head. $$$ talks and the very small group of ski anglers have a small voice compared to the almighty dollar.

i love em any how, and fish for them whenever i get time!!!
 
but those are stocked lakes. no natural skis down south

Ohio, Pemnslyvania, NY are actually good musky states as well.....
 
I myself have never fished for a muskie. Ive seen pictures of some nice ones takin out of Spring and Argyle Lake. They are only 20 minutes apart in West Central Illinois. A buddy of mine who fishes the Cabelas Crappie tournaments was at Spring Lake last June and landed a Big Muskie i dont know the exact measurement but it was over 4'. Ive never seen him so happy.
 
Huh,hummm. I would like to announce that I am beginning a new group. It is called the N.W.M.F. or the "National Wild Muskie Federation" . I plan to re-establish the populations in all bodies of water and make muskie the new sunfish! Just ribbin ya! /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif I have never caught one, but I have given up skinny-dipping in all lakes containing them. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/blush.gif /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
hahahaha

thats a scary thought, you actually skinny dip!!!????

(Full body shiver Graemlin)


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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Skully</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I have never caught one, but I have given up skinny-dipping in all lakes containing them. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/blush.gif /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif </div></div>

Be carefull, little kid got bite up here last summer.

Do you guys have normal skis down there or tiger musky hybrids?
 
initially they stocked the Tigers, but they didnt fare very well in Iowa's warm and dirty water, but for some reason the Pure strain muskies have done well, there could be more of them, but ones that are caught are FAT!
 
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