Lake Chippewa Flowage Vacation

WDNR ON THE FLOWAGE: 2016 Is The Year of the Musky

Spring – Collect eggs Summer – add super food Fall – Stock bigger fingerlings

This spring the fisheries emphasis on the Chippewa Flowage will be on musky. Crews from Hatchery in Spooner will join the local fisheries management team out on the water to survey adult muskellunge and collect eggs needed for hatchery production. All adult muskellunge that are handled will be given a PIT (passive integrated transponder) tag that will allow us to track the fish’s growth, movement, and use as hatchery broodstock. There are currently over 200 adult muskellunge in the Chippewa Flowage already carrying these tags and we stand to learn a lot about the status of muskellunge in the Chip as a result of this project. These tags are implanted in the fish, meaning anglers will not be able to tell if they have caught a tagged fish.

This fall the DNR plans to stock many of the muskellunge fingerlings raised from the collected eggs back into the Chippewa Flowage. Our goal is to grow these fish to a larger size which will help them avoid predators and survive winter at a higher rate. To boost the size of fish being stocked, the Hayward Chapter of Muskies Inc. is making a significant donation to the Hatchery to purchase high quality feed for the fish before they leave the hatchery ponds. Anglers can help create favorable conditions for these young muskies by harvesting small northern pike (<26 inches) throughout the year. Northern pike can prey directly on muskellunge (and walleye) and also compete with them for food. Pike densities in the Chippewa Flowage are problematically high, particularly in many areas of the west side. On behalf of the Hayward Fisheries Management Team I’d like to wish you all a safe season with lots of good fishing. Max H. Wolter, Fisheries Biologist, WDNR