Chase shows Brad the ropes on his home water and talks about the rise and fall of the fishery. They find success, using patterns involving heavy structure!
Great episode brother. And there certainly should be a season to help preserve such an awesome animal not only in WV but also KY, VA, PA, wherever temps get too high in summer months. Rock on🎣
For a long time WV was one of the best kept secrets in the Muskie fishing world. Nowadays it gets more fishing pressure than ever before. Unfortunately the WVDNR does a very poor job managing the Muskie population. Their primary concern is trout.
I am a former Fish Pathologist and State Hatchery Biologist. I am also an avid Musky angler for 45 years. I have been talking about summer mortality for years, as have Pete Maina and others. I looked at it from purely physiological standpoint, long time anglers like Pete and others, and yourself, have witnessed it first-hand. The upper temperature tolerance limit of Muskellunge has been documented to be around 78F. Any temperatures above that will cause Muskellunge to be in certain amount of constant stress just making a living from day-to-day. If you add in angling stress (which greatly elevates corticosteroid levels and lactic acid levels) on top that, those fish are in extreme stress. Given they are poikilotherms, they are at the mercy of the temps around them. If the air temps are 80+, when you remove that fish to take a picture and put it on a board, every second it's body is rising to match the outside air temps, and the fish is being starved of oxygen, both adding a great deal more stress, possibly lethal levels. All those things combine to cause issues with the fishes immune system, suppressing it. Even if the summer mortality is only 10% (I think it's higher in temps over 78F), that is for EVERY fish caught! In that light, 10% can be a dramatic number, considering Muskellunge populations are generally low naturally. Now multiply that over seasons and you have a dramatic long term impact. Unless there is significant offset stocking on a regular basis, you will see a dramatic decline. If the population is not stocked, but natural reproduction, you could take the numbers below the minimum sustainable number and collapse the fishery entirely.
Thanks much for the comment and watching the show. Sounds to me we should have you on the podcast and talk more in-depth about these effects. Reach out to me if you have interest. Thanks much
This, however, assumes that fish are equally as vulnerable to angling during these periods of warm water temperature as they are at other times of the year. Research on this topic indicates that a small percentage of the overall population is vulnerable to angling during these periods. So 10% of a small fraction of the population (being vulnerable to capture) is a relatively small number. We should, at least, be advocating for a change in angler behaviour during warm water periods that could lead to more positive outcomes for the fish… quite simply, if one wants to fish at these warmer temps, they can’t treat the fish the same as one caught at 55F and ppl really should forego any form of air exposure.
@@mayhems10kcasts you should allow one of the leads on the research study to also join your podcast, given the allegations that Chase was lobbing at the researchers… not a good look.
I know it’ll never happen, but there should be a moratorium on Muskie fishing when water temps get to a certain level. Not just WV but everywhere. High water temps coupled with the stress of being caught is a death sentence for a lot of fish.
Appreciate the comments and support. As anglers we all need to be aware of these issues and respectfully not fish during these timeframes. Thanks again
Oh there will be. We have had the honors of working on a couple of new rod designs. We have both pretty much done away with old rods as the season progressed and use the Grasp exclusively. StCroix absolutely crushed it with the Grasp design. Thanks for the comment and support.
Thanks for reaching out. I’m assuming you’re talking about the gar bait. It’s made by a small batch bait builder in WV and hard to get your hands on. Chase explains in the episode how and where to buy one. Since it is show season I would recommend reaching out to him before they are all gone. Look up David Speed Jones on Facebook and message him. He is the builder. Thanks for watching!
