Articles : Lake Michigan Muskies

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Lake Michigan Muskies: A Topic for Discussion
By: Steven James Rusteberg
Published : Outdoor Notebook, December 2005 issue

I remember, many years ago, a discussion I had with the Fox River Valley Chapter of Muskies Incorporated, at a board of directors meeting. Back then the chapter met in Elgin, Illinois, at what was the Holiday Inn Hotel. The board room was small and quaint. Sounds of trickling water could be heard thought the building due to the several fountains scattered about in the hotel. A giant oval table sat in the middle of the room, elegantly decorated with writing utensils, notepads, and several pitchers of water. A hint of freshly brewed coffee filled the air and the burp of a coffee maker was moderately louder than the trickle of the fountains. This was a perfect backdrop to talk about the future of the Illinois muskie fishery and the direction of one of the newest and most enthusiaic muskie clubs in Illinois at the time, Fox River Valley Muskie Hunters. Many important decisions about the future of muskie stocking in Illinois were decided in this vary board room. The gentleman who sat at that oval table, helped form the dynamic shape of the “Illinois muskie landscape” you fish today and have grown to love.

I particularly remember one discussion that we had at a board of directors meeting. The topic was one I would not soon forget. The subject was “Stocking Lake Michigan with Muskies”. Although we were all dedicated, and devoted “muskie hunters”, many opinions came from the board of directors at that meeting.

Some were ready to lobby the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, back then the Department of Conservation (or D.O.C.), for the stocking of muskies into Lake Michigan as soon as humanly possible. Others were more reluctant about jumping into the preverbal “shark tank” that would surly follow such a giant leap of faith, regarding this subject. I remember the table of gentleman discussing this topic clearly. I believe it started with Danny Koniewicz heading the discussion, and the rest of the board with names such as; Jack Rudey, Rich Wren, Dennis Leopold, Jerry Lekan, Ernie Yaniz, Gary Price, Jerry Goc, and myself. These are names you may or may not recognize, but the table was full of “home run hitters” when it came to direction on stocking Illinois waters with muskie in the late 1980’s. This enthusiastic group of guys resembled King Arthur and his round table, but I remember anarchy broke out that night.

Supporters of muskie stocking in Lake Michigan argued that this body of water was the fishes natural home range, and we would be fools to expect fifty and sixty pound fish to someday come from the inland waters we had to choose from on the stocking list. Most other lakes on the stocking list were too shallow, or too small to hold such a giant fish… the fish of a “muskie hunter’s dreams”. Alewife populations had exploded in the late 1980’s and a heath muskie population in Lake Michigan could surly balance the numbers along with the stocking of salmon. Further into the discussion Harbor names like Calumet, Burnham, Diversity, Belmont, and Montrose, were heaved onto the discussion table, like prime cuts of meat thrown into a pack of hungry wolves. Strong muskie stocking enthusiasts suddenly got excited, like a child before opening their Christmas package. The topic grew even more interesting when someone mentioned the Chicago River and Calumet Rivers as a good place to start stocking efforts. The excitement of the proposal to the IDNR ( then the Illinois Department of Conservation or IDOC) made guys like me salivate. My thoughts turned to “muskie giants in Lake Michigan”… how much better can this fishery get?

But wait…

Others discussed the declining yellow perch populations and the need to clean up the harbors before the introduction of a new fish into the food chain. The effects of Zebra Mussels, an exotic crutstation was considered detrimental to the Great Lakes system at the time. This surly could not help the argument of introducing another new species to the food chain. Some denounced the thought of stocking Lake Michigan with muskie, sighting we were reeking havoc, and we were pretending we are Mother Nature, with all the right answers to balancing the ecosystem. The argument turned to something of the effect of, “we would be disrupting the natural food chain” or “we have no research”. Some others claimed that the body of water was much too large for a small muskie club such as Fox River Valley to be involved. Great Lakes salmon fisherman would be much too angry to loose baits to toothy predators. The surface area of water was too expansive and even a large stocking (or what was considered financially large dollar wise) of 2,500 fish would benefit nobody. These fish would surly never be seen again! The largemouth bass and king salmon would have a feast at our expense, many argued.

I would never forget that board of directors meeting that night. In retrospect, we didn’t accomplish much, but an idea was born… an idea that would sit on the warming burner of the stove until tea was served or the kettle boiled over.

Just recently, the kettle boiled over… I received the forward of an E-mail from another well known name in muskie stocking, Ray Thompson.

For those of you that don’t know Ray, and are obsessed with muskie fishing (such as myself), now is the right moment to meet him. Ray is on the forefront of muskie stocking in Illinois. He has been a long time member of the IMA (Illinois Musky Alliance), and Southside Muskie Hawks, also a chapter of Muskies Incorporated. His organizations have spearheaded muskie projects in Illinois like, “Project Green Gene”, and continue to put muskie genetics and research at the top of their agenda. He recently sent me this E-mail on this vary topic sparking my memory of the board meeting over fifteen years ago.

Apparently, someone had asked him about the topic of stocking muskie into Lake Michigan. This discussion echoed the Fox River Valley board of directors meeting I had been a part of over fifteen years ago. One thing is for sure, we have come a long way since the late 1980’s. The subject matter seems to be the same, but the way it is approached is much different. A very calm and inquisitive set of E-mails on the topic sputtered the same arguments (pro and con) that still echo in that board room today. As they say “the walls had ears”.

Many have asked my opinion on the subject of stocking Lake Michigan with muskie, and in a true “Rusteberg” fashion I am not afraid to give it…

I believe that expansion of muskie fisheries in Illinois has reached its “fatherhood” and is nearing its “grand fatherhood”. We see most lakes near Chicago receiving a majority of the fishing pressure. Lakes like the Fox Chain of Lakes, Loon Lake, and Shabbona receive most of the “muskie pressure”, with Carlton Lake, Evergreen Lake, Shelbyville Lake and Kinkaid Lake taking a distant second. The closer to Chicago, the larger the population of anglers and the more the fishery are used.

It is a simple formula: population of people + muskie fishery + short travel distance = tourism dollars and well fished lakes = dollars well spent (especially with the price on gas today).

We have forgotten about lakes like Argyle Lake, Story Lake, Lake George, Glenn Shoals Lake, Steven A. Forbes Lake, Lake Mingo, or even Otter Lake because of lack of population and the distance to travel. “The bottom line for the IDNR becomes, getting the biggest bang for the buck”. Stock a lake close to Chicago and it is money well spent. History has proven that as fact.

Can muskie live and thrive in Lake Michigan? You bet! Green Bay Wisconsin has become one of the new frontiers for the search for the next World Record Muskie. Populations of muskie thrive there with king salmon, northern pike, largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, perch, and alewife (baitfish). It truly is the closest thing Chicago, Milwaukee, and Green Bay have to a world class fishery. Few muskie fishermen know about this “honey hole” known as the Fox River, Green Bay or Sturgeon Bay on the Door County Peninsula.

Muskies were stocked here and live well with other fish populations. Great Lakes Anglers live in harmony with each other over the vastness and variety of species of fish available in such a small area. The Green Bay area is truly the “Mecca” of multi-species angling. Should we stock muskies in Lake Michigan? The question is already answered… and it is a loud and clear… YES!

One thing we must remember is that muskies are creatures of habit. They will use our marinas and harbors for spawning grounds, regardless if their spawning efforts are successful. These are currently off limits to fishing. Muskies will also be attracted to current. Any rivers, streams, or creeks, connected to Lake Michigan will be occupied by this predator fish. This is not a bad thing, as long as we control and understand any consequences that go along with it.

Will muskie help control other rough fish populations? You Bet! Golbys have taken the Great Lakes by storm, and everything is eating them. I have found golbys in the belly of king salmon, walleyes, and perch I have filleted. There is no reason to doubt that muskie will eat golbys as a secondary food source. The only fish to be concerned about desecrating is the yellow perch. Muskie love eating perch. The populations of perch are on the rise due to the ban on commercial fishing them in Lake Michigan. Populations are increasing significantly…or do we dare say exploding like never before. Muskie will eat perch and alewife as a primary food source. I believe we have nothing to worry about, now that the biggest threat to our Great Lakes perch fishery (commercial fishing) is out of the picture.

I still hear the voices in the back of my head that roared in board room of that Holliday Inn Hotel board room, that rainy night. I hear the preverbal “light bulb” that made a cackling sound as it tried to ignite it’s filaments to a full glowing burn, but just could not make it to the luminance of an idea. The idea was there, but could not grow the wings it needed to take-off. It’s time to give that bulb the power it needs to become a reality and the bird its wings to take-off. Muskie in Lake Michigan, it tributaries, and harbors, is an idea ready to happen if we chose the path less taken. We choose “the path less taken” when we stocked muskies in Illinois. Let’s choose it again!