Huge Muskie Problem!!!

[Nebasska]

State of Nebraska for the last 8-9 years have been introducing Tiger Muskie into all my local Bass lakes and I could not be more upset....they are eating everything and are now over 40 inches long and will hit most Bass lures and baits...and now the Bass are trying to get in their beds and do what they do

and here come the Muskie in the shallows having a full on Buffet.... I love fishing but turning Nebraska Bass lakes into Minnesota/Canada Muskie lakes is just wrong.

[soflabasser]

Sounds like the state of Nebraska is doing the right thing for those who enjoy catching muskies and those who want to catch a sportfish over 10 pounds on a regular basis. I enjoy bass fishing but would much rather catch another muskie over 40" than catch another bass over 8 pounds. 

[TOXIC]

I thought the old "Musky Eat Bass and Walleye" narrative got debunked?  I am friends with Pete Mania on FB and I thought that I read that was not true??????

[Preytorien]

There's a lake a bit north of me here in Central IN, and I've only ever fished there for musky, however folks tell me that the bass fishing is great during the summer months. However I'm not sure how to fish it. This lake doesn't have the shallow flats you're seeing, the bank drops off to about 6-8ft immediately. I want to catch the bass, not the musky. So I'm not sure how to go about it. 

[J Francho]

37 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

I thought the old "Musky Eat Bass and Walleye" narrative got debunked?  I am friends with Pete Mania on FB and I thought that I read that was not true??????

Correct, sort of.  What happens is muskie either eat the small bass in the area, or they displace bass's typical territory.  They rid the lake of over populated panfish, and allow for greater biomass, which means bigger bass.  Often what happens when things on a lake change, the typical 90 percenter anglers keep doing what they've been doing, and don't adapt.  If you're catching muskie, then move.  Plain and simple.  The game changed and you have to change your strategy.  I fish a couple tiger muskie lakes up here, and the bass are stupid big.  So are the tigers.  I'll use Conesus lake as an example.  There is at least one tournament per day, usually a couple of evening tournaments, and several on the weekends.  It's 20 lbs. to even be considered "in the money."  Most other lakes, 14-15 will win it.  Tiger muskies didn't ruin a thing.  My suggestion to the OP is to do some map study, and try something different.

[Graham]

Pin me the location, I've casted 10,000 times like they told me and still haven't caught one of those suckers!

[DomQ]

WHATTTT!?!?!? Buddy count yourself lucky man, its hard enough to catch a pike off shore now here in the GTA and your bagging musky on a regular basis?! I'm so jealous ? 

[J Francho]

Dink tigers, while fun aren't quite the same as a real musky.

[Lucky Craft Man]

"State of Nebraska for the last 8-9 years have been introducing Tiger Muskie into all my local Bass lakes and I could not be more upset....they are eating everything and are now over 40 inches long and will hit most Bass lures and baits...and now the Bass are trying to get in their beds and do what they do

and here come the Muskie in the shallows having a full on Buffet.... I love fishing but turning Nebraska Bass lakes into Minnesota/Canada Muskie lakes is just wrong."

 

Fake News...Musky do not have the ability to eat everything in the lake, plus bass (and walleye) are not their top menu choice.  As was mentioned above by JFrancho, Musky being the top predator in the lake can take top billing on prime ambush spots where the bass used to reside.  Now the bass have relocated and you need to now find them.  In addition, catching musky is just plain fun, so enjoy that occasional 40" Tiger and enjoy the challenge of finding where the bass have gone, because they certainly won't be in the bellies of those musky's like you think.  

[DomQ]

3 minutes ago, Lucky Craft Man said:

"State of Nebraska for the last 8-9 years have been introducing Tiger Muskie into all my local Bass lakes and I could not be more upset....they are eating everything and are now over 40 inches long and will hit most Bass lures and baits...and now the Bass are trying to get in their beds and do what they do

and here come the Muskie in the shallows having a full on Buffet.... I love fishing but turning Nebraska Bass lakes into Minnesota/Canada Muskie lakes is just wrong."

 

Fake News...Musky do not have the ability to eat everything in the lake, plus bass (and walleye) are not their top menu choice.  As was mentioned above by JFrancho, Musky being the top predator in the lake can take top billing on prime ambush spots where the bass used to reside.  Now the bass have relocated and you need to now find them.  In addition, catching musky is just plain fun, so enjoy that occasional 40" Tiger and enjoy the challenge of finding where the bass have gone, because they certainly won't be in the bellies of those musky's like you think.  

Well put! 

[Nebasska]

25 minutes ago, Lucky Craft Man said:

"State of Nebraska for the last 8-9 years have been introducing Tiger Muskie into all my local Bass lakes and I could not be more upset....they are eating everything and are now over 40 inches long and will hit most Bass lures and baits...and now the Bass are trying to get in their beds and do what they do

and here come the Muskie in the shallows having a full on Buffet.... I love fishing but turning Nebraska Bass lakes into Minnesota/Canada Muskie lakes is just wrong."

 

Fake News...Musky do not have the ability to eat everything in the lake, plus bass (and walleye) are not their top menu choice.  As was mentioned above by JFrancho, Musky being the top predator in the lake can take top billing on prime ambush spots where the bass used to reside.  Now the bass have relocated and you need to now find them.  In addition, catching musky is just plain fun, so enjoy that occasional 40" Tiger and enjoy the challenge of finding where the bass have gone, because they certainly won't be in the bellies of those musky's like you think.  

Fake News? I found a dead 41 inch musky with a 13 inch bass lodged in its mouth so I figure he took one for the team...

Thought this was Bass Resource not Musky Fan club?....

[J Francho]

That's one less tiger and one less under size dink.  Sounds like a win win.

 

Seriously, you are looking at this the wrong way.  NY has been introducing tigers for decades to improve fishing, with great success.

[Nebasska]

They put 40 Tigers in a 44 acre lake....not a good ratio in my mind. will be hard for me to ever see myself trying to catch one of those slimy stinky wanna be alligators...ha!

[BrianinMD]

Local lake has been stocked every year with 3000 musky (9 inch fingerlings in a 500 acre lake). Bass fishing could not have been better. A lot of musky were caught out and died in other ways but there were legit 50+ inch tiger musky in there.

 

Then a virus hit the stocking population and none were stocked for a few years. Could not find a musky left and bass fishing declined. During this time someone also self stocked yellow perch which are everywhere now.

 

The lake is still a good lake but definitely down from what it used to be, fisherman need to make some adjustments too.

[Steveo-1969]

@Nebasska  After reading your signature I'm not sure why you are complaining.  You are still fishing, correct?

[dgkasper58]

2 hours ago, soflabasser said:

Sounds like the state of Nebraska is doing the right thing for those who enjoy catching muskies and those who want to catch a sportfish over 10 pounds on a regular basis. I enjoy bass fishing but would much rather catch another muskie over 40" than catch another bass over 8 pounds. 

Oh man do I wish I lived in FL...

 

 

[sully420]

Muskie do eat bass and bass eat muskie  fingerlings its no big deal thats what fish do. I find the size of bass to be bigger in lakes with larger predators. Look at lake Mille lacs its full of 50"+ Muskie and its also full of giant smallmouth. 

[WRB]

When fishing in Lake of the Woods, Ontario Canada, a lake with both big pike and musky, no hybrid Tiger musky that I knew of, the LMB owned the inside weed edges.

Walleyes, pike, musky worked the outside weed edges and the Smallmouth were on the reefs. The fish coexisted but had there preferred territory. 

If you hooked a walleye and a big pike or musky was nearby they often grabbed it sideways like a dog bone. To say they musky don't eat other game fish isn't true at Lake of the Woods!

My point is the LMB bass learned to relocate where they were able to dominate, the inside weed beds, their shape allows quick turns needed to capture prey. 

Tom

[soflabasser]

1 hour ago, dgkasper58 said:

Oh man do I wish I lived in FL...

 

 

Yes South Florida is a fisherman's paradise but fishing for muskie is also fun and worth traveling for.

1 hour ago, Nebasska said:

 I found a dead 41 inch musky with a 13 inch bass lodged in its mouth 

Sounds like a bass pattern swimbait might be a good lure to use there.

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, Nebasska said:

They put 40 Tigers in a 44 acre lake....not a good ratio in my mind.

Hardly a drop in the bucket.

[Bankbeater]

Missouri started stocking muskie in 4 or 5 lakes about 14 or 15 years ago. The bass eat the muskie fry, and the muskie eat the bass fry. The bass usually win out because they are in greater numbers than the muskie.  The muskie that do survive get big.

[DomQ]

41 minutes ago, Bankbeater said:

Missouri started stocking muskie in 4 or 5 lakes about 14 or 15 years ago. The bass eat the muskie fry, and the muskie eat the bass fry. The bass usually win out because they are in greater numbers than the muskie.  The muskie that do survive get big.

"Get big" case closed, great finisher !!! ?

[newriverfisherman1953]

8 hours ago, Nebasska said:

State of Nebraska for the last 8-9 years have been introducing Tiger Muskie into all my local Bass lakes and I could not be more upset....they are eating everything and are now over 40 inches long and will hit most Bass lures and baits...and now the Bass are trying to get in their beds and do what they do

and here come the Muskie in the shallows having a full on Buffet.... I love fishing but turning Nebraska Bass lakes into Minnesota/Canada Muskie lakes is just wrong.

 

Big fish eat small fish. That’s why bait works so well. Enjoy it. 

[Subaqua Adinterim]

  In NY our DEC decided to appease the recreational boaters on one Adirondack lake and used the brilliant strategy of dumping a ton of sterile grass carp into the water to eliminate all the weeds. Within just a few years, a once vibrant lake full of pike and bass is turned into a water covered desert with more grass carp than game fish; which considering that these carp can't reproduce should tell you how few game fish are left.

 

You should count your blessings, you have another fun species to target and it appears that your state is trying to improve things.

[bassh8er]

I’m in Omaha and have yet to see this Muskie explosion.

 

They've been stocked around here in various lakes and their impact is not noticeable.

 

The best bass lake within a hour of me is the only one with pike in it; go figure.