Let's handle musky w/care

[Lee Borgersen]

                                             




                                               





 

 




Article:

As muskies begin to bite, please handle them with care

By Paul Nelson:   


  .......
Lake Bemidji has really greened up this past week with a significant algae bloom, so we have reached the part of the season often referred to as the “dog days” of summer.


Surface water temperatures have soared into the mid 70s, with more hot weather in the forecast. There hasn’t been much sign of a summer-kill in the lakes yet, which becomes more likely if the surface water temperatures were to reach above 80 degrees.

Muskie anglers have seen an up-tick in the bite this week, as muskies take some time to adjust to the loss in visibility caused by the algae bloom.

Muskie anglers need to remember muskies are very fragile, much more fragile than northern pike. When muskies get hooked, they give it their all when they fight.


Muskies can burn up their energy reserves very quickly. During the fight, muskies are exchanging oxygen for lactic acid in their cells and building up an oxygen debt that needs to be repaid after the fight is done for them to survive.

Lactic acid can build up to toxic levels in muskies sooner than in most species of fish. Just like a human runner continues to breathe heavily after they run, muskies need to breathe and be held upright while they repay the oxygen debt they build up while exerting themselves.

Muskies need to stay upright while they recover. Once any fish goes belly up, they are not likely to recover without help.

An oxygenator in a live well with the pump on continuous recirculation and a bit of ice to cool the water would be ideal for helping fish recover, but anglers are not allowed to put a muskie smaller than 50 inches into their livewell because it is not a legal fish.


This leaves proper handling as the only option while releasing a muskie. Anglers need to keep the fish in the net until it is unhooked and then minimize the amount of time they hold the fish out of the water.

Don’t hold a muskie out of the water for longer than you can hold your own breath. Get the fish back into the water as soon as possible, holding it upright by the tail and let the fish breathe until it is ready to swim.

Muskies aren’t the only fish that should be biting better with the algae bloom. The stained water allows walleyes and other light sensitive species to feed more comfortably during the day.

Increased metabolism rates during the summer force fish to feed more often, to keep up with amount of calories they are burning in the warm water.


The algae bloom in Lake Bemidji or the stained water in lakes like Upper Red Lake accomplish about the same thing, only one is coffee colored water and the other lakes have green water. It is like sunglasses with different colored lenses, they both accomplish the same thing.

There are still some lakes in the Bemidji area that have very clear water, which is caused by the presence of zebra mussels. The clear water forces the fish into deeper water and makes them less active during bright or calm conditions.

The fish in the clear lakes wait for low light to feed and avoid the daylight bite as much as possible. Cass Lake, Pike’s Bay and Leech Lake definitely fall into the clear lake category and Winnibigoshish is clearer than it has been in modern times and maybe longer.

Anglers will eventually need to change some of their presentations because of the zebra mussels. Most walleye anglers use presentations that make constant or at least frequent contact with the bottom.

Zebra mussels have sharp edges and will often cut anglers lines when they make contact with the bottom. Lakes infested with zebra mussels eventually change the way angler’s fish, with anglers switching to presentations that don’t touch the bottom, to avoid the zebra mussels that will eventually cover the bottom of the lakes.

Until then, anglers should be checking their line more often, both by the hook and by the sinker.

Nelson runs the Bemidji Area Lakes Guide Service. He can be contacted at panelsonbemidji@gmail.com