[Realmwalker]

(Please excuse the length of this post)

An Introduction: After a couple of days on the forum, I have noticed a good number of past and present discussions regarding catch and release. While it appears that there is some debate amongst several species, it appears that ones surrounding muskies seem to be the most passionate. I was inspired to offer some of my expertise and unique perspective to the discussion in a few forums, but I was in agreement with several others that the best place for this discussion is in its own thread...so here it is.

A couple of things: First of all, I would like to center this particular thread on discussing the merits and issues pertaining to voluntary muskie catch and release. While there can be much valuable discussion regarding any variety of species, or even in general, the musky debate is one that I feel has the greatest potential for understanding and growth for both sides.
Secondly, I also say voluntary because a statewide catch and release regulation on muskies is problematic and can negate some of the very positive things the fishery tries to create. (I will expand on this idea later)
Finally, I want to be clear that I do not in any way want this thread to become a place where someone does not feel free to speak their opinions, regardless of whether they agree or disagree with another poster or opinion. With that said, be respectful and mindful for each other.

Now, if I may, I would like to share my opinion and experience regarding this topic.

There are many varied opinions regarding catch and release, harvest, and selective harvest. Despite the fact that I am almost exclusively catch and release on all species, (because I and most of my family do not like fish) I fully support anyone choosing to harvest game fish in accordance with state regulations for eating or as a trophy. It is their choice and well within their rights. With that said, I would like to show people why they should choose not to harvest muskies except in the notable case where the fish definitely will not survive the release.

Most people not truly familiar with muskies, their unique biology, ecological position and the challenges associated with developing a thriving musky fishery. Because of this, many misconceptions and myths exist about muskies and the result is that many people do not understand why voluntary catch and release is desirable for the fishery.

Muskie Misconceptions:

1. Muskies are simply a large version of Northern Pike:

This one simple and understandable misconception has been the bugaboo for all musky fisheries, even in long established ones. Most people naturally assume that the characteristics and environmental impact of northern pike translate to their larger cousins. While they share some physiology and waters, they are vastly different in their growth, ideal forage size, and breeding success.
Northern Pike are more successful breeders because the coating on their eggs are stickier than musky eggs, meaning far less fall off of the vegetation in spawn areas into the bottom muck, suffocate and die.
This one fact alone is the primary reason why, even in native waters, muskies are never very abundant, even juveniles, while northerns can dominate a fishery with stunted "hammer handles".
Northern Pike also vary greatly in life expectancy and maturity age. A northern pike in Nebraska will often mature in 3-4 years and can live 9-12 years, while Nebraska muskies will typically reach sexual maturity in 5-6 years and can live 15-20. While muskies have the longer lifespan, their lack of breeding success and later onset of sexual maturity means that they require more spawning seasons than northerns to support the sustainability of the population.
These differences in both breeding success and sexual maturity age make the musky extremely vulnerable to overfishing while northern pike populations are more resilient to(and in some cases require) consistent angler harvest.

2. Muskies harm valuable walleye fisheries:

Muskies are top predators in their waters, to be sure, and will often predate upon valuable game fish such as walleye, bass, crappies and trout. However, the preferred foods of the musky are the "torpedo shaped" soft finned fishes such as suckers, cisco, shiners, and shad.
Much of the thought that muskies consume vast amounts of walleye and smallmouth comes from the stories of muskie hitting hooked walleyes and smallmouth being brought to the boat. Of course, a struggling fish in waters with an apex predator such as a muskie may very well entice such a bite, but those are more likely attacks of opportunity.
Additionally, any natural predation that does occur is typically very healthy for populations of walleye, smallmouth, and crappie. Some fishery management agencies in the upper Midwest cite strong populations of large muskies to being an important factor in creating trophy smallmouth and walleye waters.
Also, as stated above, muskies are not like northern pike, which reproduce more rapidly and can overstress an environment with their predation upon small fry and fingerlings, even as adults (adult muskies seldom eat small, and more often go large, unlike northerns...hence the difference in typical lure size).

3. Muskies are good tablefare:

The minimum size for muskies to be legally kept in Nebraska is 40". While I do not personally like fish, I know others who love to eat fish, especially northern. Those I know, who typically eat northern are harvesting 20-28" fish and say that while they taste great at that size, once they get much larger, the taste begins to go south.
The muskie, by all accounts has a similar texture to northern, but that the taste is somewhat "fishier", and not as firm.
Factor this in with the fact that muskies are more difficult to catch and more suspect to overfishing than better table fare such as walleye, crappie and even northern makes harvesting musky "for the table", in my opinion, a unnecessary waste.
In my 30 some odd years of fishing, I have never once heard of someone anxious to catch a "stringer full of muskies" for a fish fry.

4. A 50"+ musky is a trophy, once in a lifetime catch:

It does not HAVE to be!! To be sure, a 50" musky is a GREAT fish and something that size will likely not be caught by the majority of folks of who fish on Nebraska lakes. But I have to be honest here...with proper management and a concerted, voluntary catch and release ethic, these fish will become more common (albeit still RARE) and the bar will be raised in this state, just like it is in Minnesota, New York and Ontario.
When I lived in Minnesota, we once raised 4 different 50" class fish in one day on Lake Rebecca. One took my line, and it is the 54.5" that you see in my profile pic, with numerous hook scars from previous catches, and I am sure she is still out there today...sitting at about 57".
There is no reason why this cannot be the same in Nebraska. In fact, Lake Rebecca is 1/4 the size of Merritt and probably gets 10x the muskie fishing pressure that Merritt does due to its proximity to the Twin Cites. But there is an ingrained Catch and Release ethic for muskies in Minnesota, so the fishery stays healthy.
A 50" muskie could have 10 more years of growth in it, maybe even more. And that female will spawn her awesome genetics every remaining year of her life, helping to ensure strong muskie year classes and good local roe sources for further muskie stocking efforts.
For those of you used to 35" northerns, 28" walleye, and 11" bluegills being huge, catching a 50" muskie could very well be the most amazing thing that will happen to you on the water...especially if you catch it on a rig set up for smaller fish. That is quite a feat and a great story! I (personally) will NEVER deny anyone the pleasure of keeping such a fish for mounting on the wall for all to see, if they choose to do so. That is why creating a widespread culture of voluntary release of muskies (by musky fisherman AND non-musky fisherman) is so important, because sometimes, the fish just has to be kept, and this will help ensure that someone does not keep a 41" muskie "just because" it might taste good or look good on the stringer.


So with these misconceptions addressed, let me discuss the directly issue of voluntary catch and release as opposed to required.

The primary reason that voluntary catch and release is ideal is that there are some situations and circumstances where releasing the fish will not result in its survival. In these cases, harvesting the fish should be perfectly legal for the angler...especially in the case of a trophy sized catch.
The word voluntary indicates a deliberate intention to release the fish, even before it is potentially caught. You know from the moment that the fish is hooked that you intend on releasing it unharmed, and from that moment on, you will take steps to ensure its survival. That means proper fighting, netting, handling and releasing of the fish. (these methods will be discussed in another post I am sure) In short, no flopping around on the bottom of a boat, holding it by the eye sockets, or folding it into a bass-sized livewell!
If release was required, it would not enter the most fishermen's mind as to WHY it should be done; only that it is illegal to do so. No discussion on proper release methods, no dialogue about proper management, and no "catch" records to occasionally be verified and publicized. You end up with a fish of which that all but the die hards think "who cares? I can't keep it, no matter how big it is." Suddenly, the musky fishery is not an attraction; it is a distraction, a waste of time of both management staff and anglers.
A successful musky fishery is unlike any other freshwater game fishery in the United States as musky fanatics (both in state and out of state) will spend thousands of dollars and travel many miles to visit a high quality musky impoundment. You also get popular fishing productions filming on your waters and advertising the state's musky opportunities.
But in order to get there, the fishery has to be protected. There will always be a harvest. There will always be some fish that get taken as table fare or trophies, but if the vast majority know and understand that the ONLY way that the fishery will succeed is if the vast majority of legal muskies that are caught are voluntarily released as a practice, the fishery will continue to improve and the overall quality of the fish caught will increase.

Again, I apologize for the length of this post, but I thought that it was important to start a thread dedicated to this subject so that those who have little or no experience with this great fish can begin to see the "WHY" behind all of the catch and release talk involving muskies.

To be sure, there is much more information and discussion to be had on this topic...and that is good. I would invite anyone to ask me any questions that they like, or to discuss this post specifically with me.

I also would like to invite anyone to discuss various release methods and other information on here as well. As far as catch reports are concerned (both kept and released) let us all try to celebrate those successes and the fact that Nebraska has the beginnings of a world-class fishery.

So if the topic comes up on a catch report about catch and release, I would ask the moderators to forward all such discussion (beyond the typical "what happened" sort) to this thread, or another like it. We want to make people happy with catching muskies here in Nebraska and dream of catching one...and hopefully, of getting soaked as its tail splashes water upon release.