Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - September/October 2019 - 4

photos-PFBC archives

Successful
Musky Stockings
by Timothy D. Schaeffer

Executive Director
Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater readers have been seeing a lot
about Pennsylvania's evolving and increasingly successful
musky program throughout issues of the magazine this year.
From "Managing Pennsylvania's Muskellunge" in the July/
August issue to "Burning Muskellunge" and "Voluntary
Permits-New Investments in Aquatic Resources" in this
issue as well as articles slated for November/December, longtime musky anglers and those looking to start pursuing this
top predator fish for the first time have plenty of reading
material to get them excited.
The 2012 Muskellunge Management Plan set the stage
for a new approach by changing the goal from catching an
occasional trophy fish to high-quality fisheries where anglers
have a reasonable chance of catching specifically targeted
muskies. The moniker "fish of 10,000 casts" has been around
for a long time, and we are trying to break that mold and
increase the odds.
One of the key ingredients in this new approach is stocking
larger fish that have a greater chance of survival. On a recent
trip to a fish habitat installation at a state park, someone
recalled years ago seeing a Largemouth Bass take a fingerling
musky almost as soon as it hit the water. That can certainly
happen, and one of the goals of stocking larger fish is to make
fish less susceptible to predation.
When people think about fish stocked by the Pennsylvania
Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC), they invariably think
about the 3.2 million trout we raise and spread across the
Commonwealth each year for anglers to enjoy. The trout
stocking schedules on our website (www.fishandboat.com)
receive more visits each year than any other topic, and more
and more people are also turning to the FishBoatPA mobile
app to access this information.
We encourage anglers and other interested individuals
and groups to join us in the field to get the fish into the

Muskellunge fingerlings

Pennsylvania State Representative David Maloney and Pennsylvania
State Representative Mark Gillen stocking Muskellunge.

water. In fact, we could not accomplish the stocking without
the help of volunteers, many of whom come year-after-year
as a rite of spring.
This year, we made a concerted effort to invite legislators
to join us in the field for trout stocking to learn more about
what we do, interact with constituents who come out to help
regardless of the weather and experience the satisfaction of
putting fish one step closer to waiting anglers. Starting in
June, we applied the same transparent approach to stocking
the larger musky yearlings and had a great time with everyone
who joined us.
So far this year, at least 40 local, state and federal officials
have joined us for trout and musky stockings, gaining a better
appreciation than ever about the significant role that our
hatchery system plays in Pennsylvania's $29.1 billion outdoor
recreation economy.
This year, we will stock more than 27,000 muskies and
6,000 tiger muskies into public lakes and rivers. Beginning
next year, we expect to increase that number to approximately
34,000 muskies and 6,000 tiger muskies. We now alternate
stocking locations every other year, annually hitting
approximately 30 locations.
The beautiful year-old fish measuring 12-14 inches in length
that our partners helped us stock were raised at the Linesville
State Fish Hatchery (muskies), Crawford County, and Pleasant
Mount State Fish Hatchery (tiger muskies), Wayne County.
While it is still months away, please consider attending the
annual Linesville State Fish Hatchery Open House that will
take place on a Saturday in April, at which you can come faceto-face with muskies, Walleyes and other fish species.
Thank you to the PFBC staff who have assisted in
advancing the musky program and securing Pennsylvania as
a leader in yet another area of fisheries management. And,
thank you to the legislators and other guests who helped take
the muskies on the next leg of the journey, resulting in fish on
the end of fishing lines.

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * September/October 2019

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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - September/October 2019

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