GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – At a meeting last Monday, anglers received an update on the walleye population in the Green Bay system, followed by a discussion on the status of the musky fishery.
Wisconsin DNR senior fisheries biologist Jason Breeggemann explained that musky were removed from the Bay of Green Bay many years ago. To revitalize the population, years of stocking efforts have taken place, serving as the primary method to restore the musky fishery.
In the late 1980s, the Wisconsin DNR partnered with various musky clubs to launch a program aimed at stocking spotted musky, a collaboration that continues today.
Over the past decade, the Wisconsin DNR has stocked a mixture of fingerling and yearling musky. Last year, nearly 16,000 fingerlings were stocked in the Fox River, though no yearlings were added. Since 1989, a total of 205,986 large fingerling musky and 41,533 yearlings have been introduced into the system.
While stocking has helped rebuild the musky population, Breeggemann noted concerns in the data.
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“Stocking has been really good at creating a high-quality trophy musky fishery, but today all the evidence that we have looked at shows that natural reproduction is really, really limited—certainly not enough natural reproduction to sustain a musky fishery,” Breeggemann explained.
The Wisconsin DNR is currently working on 12 habitat restoration projects in the Bay of Green Bay and the Fox River. Of those, six are specifically focused on aiding the musky population. Project biologists and technicians plan to conduct surveys to gain a better understanding of the adult musky population and assess the success of stocking efforts.
