Anchor Tagged Muskies

[Todd Forcier]

Hello to all, I’ve been asked by several fishermen and received several emails about the “tagged” muskies on Petenwell.

Here’s the facts:
• Fyke nets were set on March 25th and lifted daily until April 16th.
• A total of 254 (21 recaptures) muskellunge were captured.
• 93 Females ranged in size from 31.2 to 47.7 inches.
• 129 Males ranged in size from 29.3 to 45.0 inches.
All fish were marked with a right Ventral fin clip and 171 had a PIT tag inserted into the cheek. Fish over 45 inches also got an external anchor tag.

On each anchor tag will be a phone number to call and a number that has been assigned to the fish. Here’s what you can do when you catch a musky with an anchor tag. *Use the phone number below for Justine's direct line.
• Write down the number on the tag.
• Get an accurate measurement.
• Location of your catch. This will let Justine know travel of the fish from where it was processed to catch.
• Call Justine at 715.421.7845 with said information. You can also email her at justine.hasz@wisconsin.gov.
• Feel free to send photos.

I hope this helps answer any and all questions about the anchor tags.
Once again we’d like to “thank” Justine Hasz and her team for their dedication to Petenwell.

In the photos below is a placed tag and Wes Michels holds a beautiful 41-inch musky, which had a clipped fin and anchor tag. Nice catch Wes.

[Todd Forcier]

Here's the reply from Justine Hasz -

Wes, I looked up the tag number. We captured this fish on April 5th and we measured it as a 40.0 inch male. It was the last fish that we processed that day. My best guess of its location when we captured it is at Devils Elbow. We lifted these nets our lasts days of the survey. Nice looking catch, keep having fun catching those muskies.

Justine

Justine Hasz
Senior Fisheries Biologist
Bureau of Fisheries Management
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
473 Griffith Ave.
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494

Tel: 715-421-7845
Fax: 715- 421-7830
Email: Justine.Hasz@Wisconsin.gov

[Reef Hawg]

Nice fish guys!

I went out with the DNR to do some of the sampling this spring, and had a great time helping mark and work the fish. My only suggestion, which I'll also pose to Justine when we speak at our stocking, would be to keep track of where the fish were initially tagged and worked. I thought this would 've been key information for the survey, to study the potential movements of these critters through the season and also into next year. It actually surprises me that a gps coordinate, net #, or location ID that would take no more than a few seconds to allocate after each net is completed, isn't given to each fish, as is often done with surveys elsewhere. That way, the travel of Wes's fish and others like it would be known. Wouldn't it be neat to know if a fish caught in a net next spring, may have spawned either in the same exact spot, or several miles from where it was recaptured? It is also helpful in determining potential entrainment(travel through the dams) and whether the fish potentially stage in areas above the dams before, or below the dams after said event.

At any rate, I commend Justine for the unprecedented hard work she has put in here in the short time she's been here. I'm alsoglad this survey is continuing, hopeful that the DNR will obtain enough funding to continue and broaden the Pete survey to the south end as planned, and willing to help as needed when survey season arrives.

Jason