Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 54
Managing Pennsylvania's
MUSKELLUNGE
by Rob Wnuk
Retired PFBC Fisheries Biologist 3
photos by the author
Wherever Muskellunge are found, Muskellunge are the top
predator. These fish typically exist in low numbers and grow
big enough to get any angler's heart racing. Pennsylvania's state
record Muskellunge, caught from Conneaut Lake in 1924,
weighed a massive 53-pounds, 3-ounces. With its low numbers,
large sizes and unpredictable nature, Muskellunge are challenging
for anglers to catch. Anglers often refer to Muskellunge as
mysterious, elusive and "the fish of 10,000 casts."
Muskellunge can also be mysterious to biologists. The same
traits that make fish challenging for anglers to catch make
Muskellunge difficult for biologists to sample. For many years,
capturing a single Muskellunge during a routine survey was
enough evidence of survival to justify a stocking program. That
is because the goals of past Muskellunge stocking programs were
to add diversity to fish communities and generate excitement by
providing anglers the opportunity to catch the fish of a lifetime.
54
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * July/August 2019
Over time, stocking Muskellunge to add diversity and provide
an occasional trophy became unsustainable. Fisheries managers
were requesting more Muskellunge than the hatcheries could
produce. At the same time, the costs of raising Muskellunge
soared while fishing license sales and, thus, Pennsylvania Fish &
Boat Commission (PFBC) revenues declined. In addition, it was
apparent from angler complaints and biological surveys that, in
many waters, Muskellunge stockings that had produced great
fishing in the past were no longer working.
Pennsylvania's Muskellunge stocking program obviously
needed a major overhaul. Changes began with the publication
of the statewide Muskellunge Management Plan in 2012. First
and foremost, the 2012 plan moved the goal of Muskellunge
stocking away from providing diversity and an occasional trophy
to creating high-quality fisheries. The plan defined high-quality
fisheries as waters where anglers who specifically fished for
Muskellunge had a reasonable chance of catching one. That
change in philosophy required fisheries managers to remove
waters from the stocking program that did not produce good
numbers of Muskellunge. In that way, the remaining waters could
be stocked consistently.
Determining which waters produced good numbers of
Muskellunge meant that biologists needed to take some of the
mystery out of Muskellunge sampling. The 2012 plan did that by
www.gonefishingpa.com
http://www.gonefishingpa.com
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August
Contents
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - Cover1
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - Cover2
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - Contents
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 4
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 5
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 6
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 7
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 8
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 9
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 10
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 11
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 12
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 13
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 14
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 15
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 16
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 17
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 18
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 19
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 20
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 21
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 22
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 23
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 24
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 25
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 26
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 27
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 28
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 29
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 30
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 31
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 32
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 33
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 34
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 35
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 36
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 37
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 38
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 40
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 41
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 42
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 43
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 44
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 45
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 46
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 47
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 48
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 49
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 50
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 51
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 52
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 53
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 54
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 55
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 56
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 57
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - 64
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - Cover3
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August - Cover4
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