Tagged Muskie

[bassmann77]

We caught a tagged muskie in White Bear Lake on opener and got the information today. Based on the information gathered, we figured that the average growth rate on that lake is 3.5" per year. I was hoping that the fish was tagged when it was yearling and it was. It will make a fun summer to roughly guess what the age of the fish are of what we catch.

[50inchpig]

very cool! how big was it and was the tag easy to spot? we forgot to check for one.

[bassmann77]

The fish was 28" tiger. The tag was hard to spot because it was covered in algae. We had to clean it off with our fingernail to get the number. The tag was located right along the dorsal fin.

[goblueM]

so the fish was 8 years old? seems pretty old for a 28 inch tiger... i thought they were supposed to grow fast?

[10,000 Casts]

I think that the younger they are the faster they grow. example, A 30"er can grow 4"+ per year and when it is a 45"er it will grow .5 to 2" per year.

[401TE]

Actually, a buddy of mine caught the same tagged fish in back to back years that went from 47 to 50.5 inches in one year. According to the data we have received from the fisheries guy we send our tag info to when we get them, in some lakes it appears they can continue to grow up to 4" per year all the way up to 51"...possibly even longer.

[10,000 Casts]

I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule and some lake are better than others for growth rates.

[Black_Bay]

The fish was 28" tiger. The tag was hard to spot because it was covered in algae. We had to clean it off with our fingernail to get the number. The tag was located right along the dorsal fin.

Are you sure it was a tiger? The DNR is only tagging pure strain on White Bear.

[Shawn Kellett]

That can't be right. We started tagging muskies that went into WBL around 4 years ago (I think, but I am getting old). A muskie should make 28" by year 4 in most cases so that part makes sense. There haven't been any tigers that I know of stocked in WBL. An 8 year old tiger is at the end of it's life and should be in the mid 30's to mid 40's at that age depending on it's sex.

As far as a musky growing 4" in a year when they're in the upper 40's/low 50's that's highly unusual. Measuring error is more likely to blame then a fish growing that fast in that stage of it's life cycle.

[50inchpig]

shawn, do you know the last time tigers were stocked in white bear? i pulled up along a 40ish tiger last summer that was swimming around with it's head out of the water for more than a minute. tried to get it on video but camera wouldn't focus in the low light. i am 100% positive this was a tiger.

[Nick Kuhn]

You guys are aware that tigers can occur naturally right? It doesn't happen all that often in Minnesota due to LL fish spawning habits, but they are actually very common in the natural reproduction lakes of northern Wisconsin. Still, there will always be a few in MN lakes I'm sure.

[Shawn Kellett]

Never as far as I know. It's possible the DNR put some excess in there one year, but they haven't grown tigers in years. The DNR buys it's tigers from the privates so it's doubtful they would put any in there.

[bassmann77]

Just to make sure you guys are aware I do know how to measure fish and the difference in tiger and pure. I can only go off of what the DNR information stated. The fished was stocked in 2008 at 18.5" and we measured it on a bump board and it was as close to the 28" mark as it could be.

[mn_bowhunter]

I'm no mathematicion, but a fish stocked as a yearling in 2008 was hatched in 2007. It is now 2011 so the fish was 4 years old. At 28 inches in length it would have an average growth rate of 7 inches per year. That is of course assuming that the fish grew the same length every year which cannot be true knowing the fish was 18.5 inches at age 1. Not trying to be a smart aleck, but I'm sure you realize fish do not grow in length by the same amount yearly. It is valuable to know that one fish made it to 28" in 4 years and assuming a maximum age of 7-8 years you could reasonably expect to catch adults in the mid 30's if the fish you caught was average.

[goblueM]

that makes a lot more sense if it is a 4 YO fish rather than 8.... 28 inches would be a ridiculously stunted 8 YO.

[SmellEsox]

We have sampled natural hybrids in all three of our lakes (Shamineau, Alexander and Round Lakes) in the Little Falls area.

[Black_Bay]

I got some numbers from the DNR and in 2008 290 Leech Lake strain fingerlings and 117 Leech Lake strain adults were stocked. They haven't stocked tigers since 1997. Yes natural hybrids can occur but they don't grow tags.