Out From The Field, Into The Lab

It has been a while since I've updated my blog, mainly because the fishing has ceased (season ended December 15th) and I've been busy with other writing tasks. I returned to Illinois for 2.5 weeks to visit family and process the muskie plasma we removed this summer.

My first analysis was to test the amount of ions (potassium, sodium, and chloride) present in the plasma. The level of ions found in said plasma can indicate the level of lactate/exhaustive exercise a fish has produced/undergone. Shortly after exercise there is an imbalance in cations (sodium, Na+ and potassium, K+) and anions (chloride, Cl-) where the cation concentrations are greater than the anions, causing the blood to become more acidic as pH decreases (known as metabolic acidosis).

By using a flame photometer (black machine on right) and a chloridometer (grey machine on left) I can measure the amounts of these ions present in the plasma we collected. Though I have not yet officially run the data through any statistical software, I calculated the averages for all three ions for each treatment (including the six control fish): there is almost no variation amongst treatment groups and between treatments and the control fish. Essentially, this means that muskies are undergoing virtually the same level of exhaustive exercise/lactate production in each treatment AND under "normal" conditions. I hypothesized a significant difference would be noted between treatment groups and our control group, but I am not so sure we will find that when I run the statistics...

Plasma cortisol is the other analysis I ran. Cortisol is the most common stress hormone produced by animals. It's hard to tell whether the cortisol concentrations we found are above, below, or equal to the average found in muskies because there appears to be no other muskie paper that has measured this hormone (not one that I have found yet at least). I can tell you that there is a striking difference between treatment groups and our control group which suggests that a stress response is initiated when the fish are hooked and played. Again, however, I have not run any statistics to determine if these observations are even signficant or merely anecdotal.

That's all I've got for now folks. It's been a heck of a 2009 and I can't wait for 2010!

Happy holidays and happy New Year folks!

END of Field Season #1: Thank You Muskies Canada

We spent November 23rd tracking fish on the Ottawa River, successfully finding most of our fish. Motor problems arose as the day went on and any attempt to return later in the week was stifled. As such, five months and one day later made November 23rd my last day of field season #1.

Below you'll find a few pictures of what we've been doing since my last blog entry. We've been electrofishing to obtain baseline controls for the physiology portion of our study. However, some of the muskies we electrofished came from water temperatures lower than those we angled from, so we had to go back and try to capture (via hook-and-line) muskies from colder water. We caught two small muskies at 31 and 32 inches, one of which had an old surgically implanted radio tag from a tracking study conducted two years ago.I'd like to extend a big THANK YOU to all the members of Muskies Canada that volunteered their time to help out with the project. Without your support none of this would be possible. To the NEC, thank you for helping fund Project Noble Beast! I'd also like to thank Muskies Inc. and the Becker Foundation for their financial contributions. Hopefully some of my fellow Americans can come up next summer to help volunteer with the study! Thanks everybody!

Lastly, I will update this blog as new developments arise. Stay tuned!

Circle Hook Success

Yesterday marked the fifth capture of a muskie for our live-bait study. So far we have one on a quick-strike, two on J-hooks (one dead), and two on circle hooks including yesterday's catch.

As you can see by the photo, the circle hook performed flawlessly and gave us a textbook hook-up. After about 4.5 minutes the fish began to speed toward deeper water away from the boat. It was at that time that I engaged the reel and began reeling quickly and steadily. The line tightened and the battle was on.

Perhaps this method could be a safe, viable method of passively fishing muskies with live-bait.

Cleithrum Removal

What is a cleithrum? The cleithrum is a calcified bone structure located on either side of the opercula (pectoral girdle; see pictures). As fish grow, calcium deposits from each year of growth are laid down and begin forming distinct, viewable lines (growth annuli) similar to growth rings on tree trunks. While scales can also provide age data, they are much harder to accurately assess and become even harder with older fish.

Drs. John Casselman and Ed Crossman helped pioneer the use of muskellunge cleithrum bones to assess age and growth relationships across its distribution. This undertaking began in 1979 and is known to many as "The Cleithrum Project". Taxidermists probably contribute the largest number of cleithrum bones to the project, but anglers do as well after harvesting a fish or finding one dead. It is important information that can shed light on the potential maximum size or general growth rates a given body of water may have.

As part of the necropsy we performed last week, I was given a tutorial on cleithrum removal by (my partner in crime) Hedrik. He's well known within muskie circles, and perhaps to the chagrin of his partners (haha), for plunging his hands into a well decomposed, dry-heave-inducing dead muskie to remove its cleithrum bone for aging. I was excited to give it a shot!

Removing the bone is much easier than I expected, and becomes easier the longer the fish has been dead for. The procedure is simple: find the cleithrum bone at the edge of the gill opening, use your thumb to pry the bone loose from the connective tissue beginning from the bottom edge and moving towards the top, repeat until all connective tissue has been severed, pull the cleithrum down exposing the bottom/front tip, and continue pulling (if it does not come with relative ease some of the connective tissue may still be intact) until the bone lifts free from the flesh. Go slowly, if need be, to prevent breaking the bone.

For more pictures and more detailed step-by-step procedures visit: http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/LetsFish/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_168800.html

Necropsy Notes: Injuries From Single-Hook

The last two posts and accompanying pictures were from a necropsy of muskie that succumbed to its injuries during our live-bait study. We used the necropsy to determine the extent of those injuries and where they occurred. The following are our findings.

It took just three minutes for this 38 inch muskie to swallow the sucker. Upon hookset, the 8/0 J-hook tore a roughly one inch hole in the esophagus. As the hook continued to move towards the mouth and through the esophagus it also nicked the liver which would have resulted in a fair amount of bleeding. The injuries did not stop there, however. The hook ruptured the coelom (membrane) and penetrated the pericardial cavity where the heart is located. The hepatic portal vein (delivers "dirty" blood to the liver where it is detoxified, and then to a set of capillaries that distributes it to the heart) was also nicked. The latter would have caused a great deal of bleeding, probably the bulk of bleeding we noticed. The hook finally settled just outside the esophagus

Nearly all major vital organs are located just below the esophagus. Had the hook turned the other way as it moved through the muskie's body it is possible the damage may not have been as severe. Nevertheless...

Picture 1: The scalpel is inside the pericardial cavity and is pointing to the tear in the coelom. Just left of the scalpel is the tip of the tong that was inserted down the muskie's esophagus to show the hole created by the hook.

Picture 2: Close up of picture 1.

Picture 3: The tweezers are inserted in the hepatic portal vein which was nicked by the hook. To the right is the tear in the coelom where the hook penetrated the pericardial cavity.

Picture 4: Pooled blood inside the pericardial cavity perhaps a result of nicking the hepatic portal vein or the atrium.

Necropsy Notes: General Anatomy

The heart, housed inside the pericardial cavity, is located between the pectoral fins and between each operculum (a.k.a. gill flaps). Fish hearts are two chambered compared to the four chambered hearts of humans.

Interestingly, powerful swimming fish (e.g., tunas, salmon, sharks, muskies) are not necessarily a result of their musculature make-up, but the amount of coronary circulation provided by small arteries that wrap the heart. However, not all fish have this type of circulation. Also, remember that arteries deliver oxygenated blood to the heart, whereas veins deliver DEoxygenated blood to the heart (where it can be reoxygenated). So, the coronary arteries that deliver oxygen to the heart muscle are IMPERATIVE to the performance and activity level of a fish. If these arteries become compromised (e.g., blocked) then cardiac arrest can insue. Hedrik pointed out that perhaps in warm water there is so little oxygen in the water and even less afforded to the fish during the angling event that mortalities at in warm water may be caused by heart attacks. This is purely conjecture, but is worth investigating next summer.

Fish livers are generally large (in sharks they may constitute over 1/3 of their total body weights), and the muskie's is no exception. A muskie's liver is located just below the esophagus and running along the stomach. [Far right, picture 1 and 2]. The dark colored object just left of the liver is the gall bladder.

Fish gonads are located along the top of the fish and below the backbone. In these pictures you can see this muskie is a female and full of eggs! [Update. Hedrik took a small portion of the ovaries and counted the number of eggs then extrapolated the total number of eggs using the length of the ovary. There were 606 eggs in a 29 mm/1.1 in segment of one of the ovaries. The total length of the removed ovary was 43.5 cm/17.1 in. I will forego reporting all the calculations, but there were an estimated 18,180 eggs (give or take) in this 38 in female. Scott and Crossman (1983) reported a range of 6,000 to 265,000 eggs in adult muskellunge. Hedrik's estimate falls well within the reported range!]

The creamy white tissue below the ovaries and lining either side of the pink tissue (intestine) are fat deposits.

When we caught the fish I noticed a bulge in its stomach, and during the necropsy had a chance to find out what was inside it! Perhaps not surprisingly, it was another white sucker of nearly identical size as the one we used to catch the muskie with. The sucker already in its stomach appeared to be extremely fresh, with hardly any signs of decomposition.

Necropsy Notes: Swim Bladder

This post is mostly for those from MuskieFIRST who read or participated in the "fizzing a musky" thread, but this is also meant as an educational tool for all muskie nuts.

Physoclistous: swim bladder has NO direct connection to the outside world.
Physostomous: swim bladder DOES have a direct connection to the outside world.

Muskies are physostomous (as Tfootstalker pointed out) and, as such, have an OPEN swim bladder system (as opposed to closed). In this type of system it is possible to obtain gases from above the surface, and may be one reason (in my opinion) why muskies porpoise.

So, where is the swim bladder in a muskie? It is located ABOVE most major organs (e.g., liver, stomach) and just below the kidneys and backbone. The swim bladder has a very thick membrane that was even difficult to cut with a scalpel.

Picture 1: The swim bladder is the white strip running horizontally and located just below my left thumb. You can see how high in the body it is located. Also, those are the ovaries I am holding back.

Picture 2: Close up of the swim bladder.

For those that thought they were expelling gases from the swim bladder by puncturing a small hole in the belly of the fish or near the pectoral fin, this is wrong. Perhaps there was some excess gas built up inside the intraperitoneal cavity and this method happened to work, but poking around AT ALL is a bad idea. Because these fish are physostomous, LIKE HUMANS, they can be burped. As Tfootstalker noted, gently rub their bellies from the rear (genital opening) toward their gills. This will cause any excess gas to be pushed through the pneumatic duct - which connects the swim bladder to the esophagus and is in turn connected to the outside world - and out the mouth.

Again though, please DO NOT attempt to fizz a muskie.

Electrofishing Muskies

The original project boat has since been converted into a smaller utility boat, but its main function now serves as an electrofishing boat (albeit on the small side). One of Dr. Cooke's other grad students, Chris Pullen, was able to fabricate a safety cage and all the associated rigging for the anodes. It came out looking very professionally done and I've been eager to get out and use it.

Today was my chance to see if we could electrofish a few muskies. There is a project being conducted by another member of Dr. Cooke's lab, Alison Colotelo, which involves heavy sampling across many different sites looking for four species of concern. Although most of the sampling has been completed, Alison agreed to help me try to shock a few muskies.

For those not familiar with electrofishing it involves sending rapid pulses of electricity into the water to temporarily stun fish. It is a very safe method of sampling when done properly, and is extremely efficient.

Why are we trying to electrofish muskies? We are interested in getting controls and "baseline" physiology from muskies NOT captured via hook-and-line. It is impossible to get true control fish as any method of capturing fish causes some deviation from homeostasis (normal resting physiology).

We decided to sample a smaller stretch of the Rideau River with a good population of muskies. Most of the morning was spent sifting through lots of different species - including walleye, bluegill, pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, yellow perch, rock bass, and smaller minnow species. However, the muskies evaded us... for a bit. Finally, after switching to our third location, a nice 34 inch male was shocked and quickly brought aboard. Within 15 more minutes we had another smaller muskie at 30 inches. These were the only two we took blood from, but we did manage to shock a small YOY (young-of-the-year) and another about 20 inches in length.

So how did these control fish compare to those C&Red? Their glucose and lactate levels were much lower than those that were angled. This shows that the angling event does impose some degree of stress on the fish, but the magnitude is still unclear and will require more controls to compare.

Bittersweet Day...

The sweet: We finally boated a fish in the live-bait study.

The bitter: It died.
Using a J-hooked sucker with a 3-minute time-to-hookset, the fish we caught today succumbed to its injuries. It was hooked just outside the esophagus, but I suspect the hook tore through tissue deeper within the fish.

No doubt some of you are reading this and screaming, "WHY ON EARTH ARE YOU USING J-HOOKS? THEY HAVE BEEN PROVEN TO KILL MUSKIES!" This is true (see Terry Margenau's "Effects of angling with a single-hook and live bait on muskellunge survival" published in 2007. There was also an article on the study in the August/September 2002 issue of Musky Hunter). However, muskies in that study were allowed to swallow suckers for an average time of 17 minutes and a range of 4-37.

In this study we are attempting to find a) alternatives to using J-hooks and b) ways to use J-hooks that still hook muskies but without them swallowing the bait. Therefore, we are testing using quick-strike rigs, circle hooks, and J-hooks with 1-minute and 3-minute times-to-hookset (times less than those used in Margenau's study).

Let me return to why we are using J-hooks at all. GENERALIST anglers (and perhaps some specialized) still use J-hooks. They are so pervasive that regulations banning their use are unlikely and would likely be nearly impossible to enforce. Therefore, changing angler behavior (through showing anglers there are better, safer ways to use live-bait that minimize injury and mortality) may be a better alternative to outright banning J-hooks.

So far we have hooked three muskies using quick-strike rigs. We could not boat all three, but did note that they were all hooked in the corner of the mouth.

The passing of this fish may provide additional evidence that using live-bait should be done actively (i.e., setting the hook immediately) to avoid deep-hooking and subsequent mortality. We have had other muskies pick-up suckers on J-hooks and have given them one or three minutes before setting the hook, but in all instances we could not hook any. This might suggest that the only effective way of using J-hooks is to let the muskies swallow the bait, something that Margenau showed causes significant mortality (83% over a one-year period), and something that he considers (as do I) "unacceptable for trophy muskellunge management".

Wanted!

The following is directed to the angler(s) that removed the transmitter from one of this study's fish:

If you removed the transmitter from the fish but released it, please contact me via email. By removing the transmitter you saved us $200 since it can be reused again. We got enough data from the fish before the transmitter was removed, but it would be helpful to know WHY the transmitter was removed.

PLEASE contact me if you have any information. If you'd rather speak by phone my cell is 1-217-649-4449.

Thank you,

Sean Landsman

Size May Not Matter?

I still have not run any statistical analyses on the data we've collected thus far, but today we added another muskie - 31 inch - to the sample which gave us some interesting results. After battling the muskie for four minutes, the blood glucose and lactate levels were almost exactly the same as the 43.5" caught the other day in 11.5C (~52F) water. The fish today was captured from 9C (48F) water and its glucose and lactate values were 3.2 and 7.3 mmol/l as compared to 3.0 and 7.2 mmol/l for the 43.5 incher. The lack of variation could potentially be explained in the water temp decrease, but is interesting to note that there was very little variation in blood glucose and lactate levels despite a size differential of over 12 inches.

"The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility."

The study's largest muskie - a beautiful 52 inch specimen - has vanished.

Fish #1247's transmitter was found on shore. Before we jump to conclusions, let us explore several options that could have transpired...

Perhaps the muskie befriended Rocky the Raccoon and implored him to remove that annoying little transmitter. Is this likely? No.

Or maybe someone caught the muskie, filleted it on shore, and dumped the transmitter. Though the transmitters are light, they do sink when placed in water and thus could not have floated ashore. Furthermore, the backing was still attached - nay, seemingly hung - precariously from one of the two wires protruding from the transmitter. If the transmitter had fallen off the fish, the backing would be missing. Additional evidence pointing toward harvest includes cut marks in the wire and only one wire twist where there were originally five wire wraps used to tighten the transmitter on the fish.

Ah yes, but the plot thickens. This muskie was caught from the Ottawa River - an Ontario water body with a 54 inch minimum size limit. Therefore, at 52 inches this muskie could not have been legally harvested.

Why someone did not dump the transmitter into deep water, or throw it away somewhere far on shore is a mystery. It's as if the person wanted us to find the transmitter, but did not want to reveal themselves for fear of being fined.

One more potential scenario could have been carried out: the fish was caught by an angler(s) who removed the transmitter, released the fish, and put the transmitter on shore. Perhaps this angler(s) did not like someone messing with "their" fish. Perhaps they did not know this study existed? Maybe they did and had qualms with it? Maybe, maybe.

This will remain a mystery. Fish #1247 was tracked to this location a little over two weeks ago and tracked once more yesterday to the same location. When it was first tracked to this site I did not notice a rotting flesh smell or notice remains on shore (wasn't looking). However, had the fish been filleted on shore it is likely raccoons or other creatures would have made quick work of the remains. However, I don't think raccoons could or would have carried off the bones. So why no bones? Did someone remove the bones AND skin? Or did the above more optimistic scenario transpire.

We may never know...

Water Temps, Angling Times, and Stress Levels

I compared the data from yesterday's 43.25 inch muskie to other muskies of similar size (43-45 inches). Just to compare...

Yesterday's muskie caught in 11.5C (52.7F): angling time = 3:40, glucose = 3.0 mmol/l, lactate = 7.2 mmol/l
43 inch muskie caught in 22.5C (72.5F): angling time = 0:55, glucose = 3.7 mmol/l, lactate = 11.1 mmol/l
45 inch muskie caught 18.5C (65.3F): angling time = 0:35, glucose = 2.6 mmol/l, lactate = 6.9 mmol/l

Let's compare one more fish that was given the gentle treatment...

44 inch muskie caught in 20.5C (68.9F): angling time = 0:54, glucose = 3.1 mmol/l, lactate = 7.1 mmol/l

It would appear that cooler water temperatures serve to suppress the stress response (despite long angling durations) given that fish angled in 1/3 or less the time show similar or even heightened levels. This may also be a finding that is independent of air exposure as evidenced by comparing yesterday's fish given air exposure and the above fish without air exposure).

Pretty interesting and some insight into how water temperature may influence your catch's chances at surviving an angling event. Hopefully next summer we will be able to compare stress levels in fish caught from 80+F water. However, my hypothesis would be that we would observe the opposite trend with fish caught from hot water: stress levels would be EXTREMELY elevated when fish are subject to long angling durations rather than seemingly suppressed as shown above.

Word To The Wise...

Check your line for frays. :(

Cold Streak Finally Warms

Last week I was finally able to track down suitable sized suckers for our live-bait study. I traveled 1.5 hours both ways to pick 12 suckers up. When I returned home I dropped them into a large container with water from the baitshop and an air stone pumping oxygen. Got up the next morning and drove to check on them... Half were dead! We fished with six live suckers and six dead ones. The dead ones we rigged on quick-strike rigs and cast, the live ones were put onto a mixture of circle hooks, quick-strike, and J-hook rigs. All our action came on the casted dead suckers now dubbed "Zombies". We had several hits that first day, but nothing could stay connected.

The above scenario has replayed itself several times now. The fish just don't seem to want the live stuff!

Today was a bit different, however. We had four pick-ups, but either the fish dropped the sucker after a short run or we whiffed on the hookset. Two were likely pike picking up the suckers judging by the unknown fish's inability to pull the float beneath the surface. The other two hits had more UMFFF behind them: one hit caused the float to rocket below the water and hang suspended about 2-3 feet down and the other hit sent line peeling from my reel like Jaws plucking a bluegill from beneath a bobber (before deciding the snack wasn't worth the effort).

Despite our failures to connect with any fish using live-bait, we had a bit more luck using artificials. At one point during the afternoon as we drifted a lush weed flat, the Bulldawg Hedrik so kindly lent me was smashed just as it was parting the water. The fish was small (under 30") and promptly got off. We took this as a good sign that the muskies might be starting to turn on. Towards the end of the flat, as I methodically worked Frankenstein (Hedrik inserted two screws into the Bulldawg's head to keep its nose down and prevent it from popping out of the water), I watched as a muskie slowly rose behind the bait, open its mouth, and quickly snapped it shut on Frankenstein. I hammered the hooks home and the fight was on! It was immediately apparent that the fish was hooked well, so I drew the fight out to test the fish's ability to cope with long fight times in cool water (just above 50F). The fight lasted almost four minutes.

What I caught was one of the (no offense to the muskie) gnarliest looking muskies I've ever caught. Skinny, splotched with scars, and weird "cracking" of its slime coat along its body made this one of the strangest fish I've ever encountered. In fact, it was so skinny that it looked much smaller in the water than it actually was. I was guestimating 38-40 inches as I was fighting it, but it taped out at 43 inches. The fish also appeared to be a male. If it's a male then in all likelihood this is an older fish which could explain why it looked so peculiar.

Regardless, it was another fish for the project! For those curious, the fish's glucose values were low and its lactate (7.8 mmol/l) was perhaps slightly above average, but well below the maximum we've seen (10-11 mmol/l) despite an almost four minute battle.

Back at it again tomorrow!

Skyscraper 'Skies... With A Twist!

After making a failed run to find suckers this morning (didn't stop to check store hours... apparently the place is closed on Mondays!), Hedrik and I decided a little fishing somewhere was just what the doctor ordered. The question was, where? We could not find a trolling motor to drift a section of river near downtown Ottawa, so we hooked up the boat and trailered it a block away from Little Italy!

Though the pasta with bolognese and vintage pinot grigio tempted us, the thought of seeing a hungry muskie chase down a lure was even more appetizing! We launched at Dow's Lake which is a 10 minute walk from Carleton University, and the site of many classes that Dr. Cooke teaches.

I started off the outing with a follow from a fish of unknown size on a bucktail. A little while later, Hedrik had another follow on a Bulldawg from a low-30s fish. We proceeded to fish the base of a restaurant where I got a follow from a knee-knocker of a fish (upper 40 inches, pushing 50). After that follow, things slowed for us. So, we returned to the location we began our day at.

I clipped on the same lure that got our first follow and cast it in nearly the same location as said follow, and WHAMMY (that's for all you "Anchorman" fans out there...)! Fish on! As the muskie came in towards the boat, I thought I caught a glimpse of a Floy tag. I didn't say anything because I didn't really believe my eyes, but once the fish was in the net I confirmed my first glimpse. There before us sat a previously tagged muskie! This was a fish from a study by Dr. Cooke and his students on the movements of muskellunge in Dow's Lake. The fish in the study were implanted with internal radio transmitters (as opposed to the external radio transmitters we are using), and hanging from the belly of this fish was a wire antenna protruding from a small incision! DE-CENT (for all you "Trailer Park Boys"/Bubbles fans...)! The fish taped out at 40 inches, and I am in the process of trying to get data on when it was first captured.

Unfortunately, the ramp at Dow's Lake closes at 5PM so Hedrik and I had to leave despite getting two more HOT follows from 42-43 inch fish. I was having an internal battle with myself about whether to go home and walk to Dow's, when Hedrik suggested we move to another stretch of river downstream from Dow's Lake. Obviously, this was a good idea so we trailered the boat again and moved down to Mooney's Bay on the other side of Carleton's campus.

We didn't have much time to fish, so Hedrik took me to one of his best producing spots. I clipped on a Tuff Shad (crankbait) and hoped it would finally catch me a fish (never has). I wasn't let down as at the deepest portion of the bait's dive curve it came to a complete stop! I hammered the hooks home and could feel hard, gut wrenching headshakes. The fish then proceeded to zip around the boat like a torpedo from the USS Viriginia, roll, zip around some more, roll, take another drag peeling run, dive beneath the boat, and roll some more. After all these wild antics, the fish finally rolled so much in the line that it basically entangled itself and I was easily able to guide it into the net. I can honestly say this was the friskiest fish I've ever caught! It wouldn't even hold still in the trough (a rarity)! This fish taped out at just over 40 inches.

All in all, it was a good day! Now if we can figure out where to get those darn suckers... :)

[That's the Dunton Tower (houses a variety of different institutes, schools, and departments) at Carleton in the background of the first picture, and what look to be office buildings in downtown Ottawa in the third picture.]

Tracking Confirmations

There is a fish that has been hanging out next to the ramp on the Long reach of the Rideau River the last several times I've gone to track it. I was getting worried because it seemed to be in the same location, or nearly the same location, each time I'd go to track it. When we stopped at the ramp I turned the receiver on and pointed the antenna in the direction I'd been hearing it. Sure enough, it was still there. We launched the boat and zeroed in on the signal. The water was extremely clear and I could see down to the bottom in 3-4 feet of water. Finally, I got the signal down to its lowest setting and let us drift along slowly. As I scanned the water I noticed movement to my right where the signal was coming from. A puff of silt clouded the water and as I pointed the antenna at the point of disturbance, the signal gradually got quieter and quieter. That was good evidence that our fish was there and, most importantly, alive.

After completing the rest of our tracking on the Long reach we moved to the Eccolands stretch closer to downtown. I picked up the frequency of our first fish from this stretch of river (caught speed trolling a spinnerbait) and tracked it down. When I had the signal at its lowest strength I began scanning the water. It was deeper here so I did not expect to see anything. Just as I was about to turn around and grab the GPS to mark the location, the fish I'd been searching for came cruising RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE BOAT at the surface! I could see the transmitter, backing, and Floy tag clear as day! The fish stayed on the surface for less than five seconds before sounding into the weeds.

I am very pleased as this helps confirm that my tracking accuracy is very good!

The live-bait study will, hopefully, begin sometime this week. We are having troubles getting acceptable sized suckers, but things are progressing nonetheless. Stay tuned...

Project Noble Beast... Part Deux

So as to not allow this Blog to go static, I will continue to update it with more advancements in my studies. This Blog is meant to showcase the research, but is also a snapshot into my trials and tribulations as a candidate for a Masters in Biology.

We will soon be transitioning into the second chapter of my thesis which will be looking at the viability of alternatives to J-hook live-bait swallow rigs. The study will be conducted with help from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. It will likely include four different treatments/rigs examined: quick-strike, circle hook, J-hook with 1-minute time-to-hookset, and J-hook with 5-minute time-to-hookset. [Note: All this is subject to change and may be ever-evolving if we are finding disproportionate mortality with one treatment. Remember, our goal is NOT to kill muskies, but to find ways to fish for them WITHOUT killing them.]

Many of you will recall the study conducted by Terry Margenau of the Wisconsin DNR (published in 2007) that showed single-hook rigs kill muskies, often rather brutally. So some of you may be wondering why we are even using J-hooks? First, Margenau and colleagues allowed the muskies to swallow the bait for sometimes upwards of 30+ minutes, so our use of them with shortened times-to-hookset will be an interesting comparison . Second, J-hook rigs are simply too common to not test. Lastly, the goal of the study is not necessarily to ban J-hooks (this will be very tough to accomplish), but to begin a massive education program (if the results indicate such is necessary) on alternatives to J-hooking or at least how to use a J-hook and cause little injury and mortality.

We will continue to work on the C&R project while we do the live-bait study, but soon we will be concentrating on "soaking suckers"! Tight lines, folks.

"If you think you can win, you can. Faith is necessary for victory."

On June 22nd of 2009, Project Noble Beast's commencement came with the capture of the study's first muskie from the Rideau River. Over 550 angler hours, 60 outings, $2,000+ in fuel, $2,000 lower-unit rebuild, two emergency room visits for volunteers, and a total of 95 days later, Project Noble Beast reached its goal of 30 muskies for Season 1 of the study.

The finish was textbook. Our last 11 fish came before noon - with seven of them before 10AM - which told us there was a sure-fire morning bite. Yesterday, we captured, tagged, and released three muskies in a two hour span between 8:45 and 10:45AM. Our last five fish came from one spot. Thus, the decision and resulting game-plan was easy: get up EARLY to maximize time during the morning bite and fish our go-to spot.

Our first run-through produced one boil from an unknown species. I was throwing topwater while Hedrik threw a bucktail. When we reached the top of the weedbed, Hedrik continued using the bucktail and I clipped on a big plastic Curly Sue (per Hedrik's suggestion). We drifted back down and toward the sweetspot of the weedbed, and as I entered the L-turn at the end of one of my casts a muskie rolled up and CRUSHED the lure at the boat. All morning I was on edge knowing we needed just one more fish to reach our goal, so the hit sent my heart rate SKY ROCKETING. In 32 seconds, the 41 inch female was secured in the net, and we became the victors!

Though we have reached our goal of 30 for the season, this benchmark was merely a goal and not the end-point. We will continue to opportunistically catch additional muskies as the water temperatures drop to gain data across a gradient of water temperatures. Currently, we've captured muskies from water just over 81 down to around 63 degrees Fahrenheit, but would like catch fish in water around 50 degrees or even lower. We also need additional fish to boost sample sizes for the blood physiology.

It's been a blast, and most definitely the best summer job ever! I'd like to thank all those that volunteered their time to help with the project. Regardless of whether we caught fish or not, you folks provided me with motivation to continue flogging the water in an effort to enhance muskie fishing for generations to come. Without angler support, we wouldn't be where we are today. Period.

So, I will tip a cold one back tonight for all those that have provided support either in the form of man-power, money, and/or lure and equipment donations. Thanks folks! Looking forward to continued support, and success!

T Minus... 1

That's right! Hat-trick! One more fish to go! Yahooooo!

Today, Hedrik and I were joined by Ed Sanford of the Ottawa club. Ed has been adamant about getting out and we've been tag-teaming the river recently, but actually getting to fish together has not occurred. Until today! We three muskie-teers hit the Ottawa this morning in good spirits.

Our first task was picking which spot to fish. This is always the most important decision to make during the day as the feeding windows have been typically occuring in the morning. Our best spot produced no action for us - either from muskies or any other fish species - the last time we fished it, but after letting it rest for a day or two we chose to try it again today.

We made one pass over our little weedbed and about half-way up our second pass... WHAMO! My topwater is OBLITERATED by a big fish. It actually harpooned the bait and was subsequently hooked beneath the jaw. I wasn't sure how well she was hooked, but after a short tustle we had fish #27 in the boat! She taped out at 48 inches, and beautifully marked to boot!

After tracking her for 10 minutes, we resume fishing for a bit until our next tracking session. No sooner do we begin fishing when I hear the spine-tingling, adrenaline pumping, "I got one!" Hedrik was tied into a scrappy little 36 inch male, making this our 28th fish of the study.

Now we had our hands full juggling the tracking of two fish. We finally found time to make a few more casts, but soon it was time to track again. As I said to Hedrik and Ed, "OK, time to track." Hedrik belts out another "I GOT ONE!" I scramble for the net and swiftly scoop up our 29th fish!

After that, the wind picked up and our two hour feeding window closed. We are hoping to catch our 30th fish tomorrow morning or possibly Saturday morning and reach our goal of 30 fish for the season. We are already planning on celebrating the "milestone"! Hope doing so doesn't jinx us!

Stay tuned... :)

Must Be Something In The Air

Grab your favorite tasty beverage and tip one back for Russell Spanton. Russell - who hooked a muskie on his first cast on Monday - hooked himself today. The hook slid in past the barb and it was a trip to the ER for Mr. Spanton!

That makes TWO volunteers to hook themselves and have to take a trip to the ER (three if you count Hedrik who pulled the hook out of his arm...).

There should be a warning for every volunteer to help with the project: ASSIST AT YOUR OWN RISK. :)

51.5 Inch Recapture

With time winding down in September and only four more fish to reach our goal of 30, I am chomping at the bit. For the past several days we've had fog in the mornings with clear skies by 10AM. It has also been fairly hot with little wind. Today's forecast was high of 22C, cloudy, and a 10kmh SW wind. I got a good night's sleep to be well rested for what surely would bring fish number's 27, 28, 29, and 30 to the boat!

Boy was I wrong.

Most of our action has been coming early in the day. By mid-morning we did not see a single fish. It was proving to be a tough day, and we knew whatever action we would have would require a fair bit of work.

After a short trolling run early afternoon, Hedrik and I decided to fish a spot that recently produced a 45" for us and another for myself (fishing for fun) in late August. Hedrik and I were just discussing which side of this particular spot was more productive when the water erupted behind me. Hedrik's rod was doubled over and I knew this was no pike...

I didn't get a good look at the fish until it was headed into the net, but when I did I was... surprised. As the fish slid into the net I noticed it had a transmitter on it. Great! We recapped a previous fish. Bummer that it wasn't a new fish, but oh well. I immediately assumed it was the same 45" as we caught a little over a week ago. When Hedrik grabbed the gill flap to unhook the fish, I noticed there was no hole in the flap which had been present on the 45". I jumped to the back of the boat and picked up my Bible [data book]. I asked Hedrik if he could read the transmitter frequency. I have a sheet in the back of my Bible that has all the transmitter frequencies of fish we've tagged and their corresponding numbers in the study (e.g., Fish #1, Fish #23, etc.). Hedrik replied to my query with "150-dot-460"...

Hmmm. Looks like fish number... 27? What? That's not the 45 incher! So I flip to Fish #27 and look at its length. "Hedrik?" I ask. "Guess how big this fish is?" Hedrik caught the 51.5 incher we tagged on August 14th. The fish was originally captured on a bucktail in the figure-8. Today, it was captured on a large plastic bait (Bulldawg) also at the boat (not quite in the figure-8, but close). The fish was caught at the opposite end of the island and probably moved an estimated 1-1.5km (0.5-0.75 miles) to where it was caught today.

We removed the transmitter as its recapture answers the study's main question: Do fish survive the catch-and-release process? According to this fish, they most certainly DO.

One photo shows the fish when I caught it and the others of Hedrik taken today. Enjoy!

T Minus... Just Kidding

Russell Spanton of the MCI Ottawa chapter almost got us a step closer to our goal today, and on the first cast! One cast with his brand new topwater and Russell was battling a nice low-40 inch muskie. He got it close to the boat where it turned and made a run away from us, and promptly threw the hook. Russell was the "hot stick" today as he had action from two others, boating one JUST under 30 inches. I will be fishing with Russell again on Wednesday and expect BETTER results!

T Minus... 4

After a one day hiatus from fishing to track, Hedrik and I were back at things today. We hit the road shortly after 7AM and ran into VERY heavy fog. In fact, this was possibly the heaviest I've ever driven in, much less fished in. I figured navigating through the fog couldn't be THAT difficult... Boy was I wrong. A short drive to our first spot that should have taken us five minutes under normal conditions now took us almost 30. I finally had to use the hand-held GPS to fix our last waypoint and navigate us to that location. Even then, the shoreline was barely visible and maintaining the proper heading was a task to say the least. It was very creepy as the fog began to lift and boats began to appear seemingly out of nowhere.

We knew our window of opportunity was small as the fog gave us "artificial" cloud-cover despite being bright and sunny beyond the fog. We made a couple passes through the spot and turned around again to work it a bit more slowly. I chose a zig-zag glide bait and popped it over submergent weeds. Sure enough, right in front of a guy bass fishing a nice 41 inch muskie hammered the glider and made SEVERAL powerful runs. These powerful runs were evidenced in this fish's lactate values which were higher than normal.

As a side note, this particular fish had a previous Floy tag in it from an unknown source, though the area code is from my home state of Illinois (Naperville/Wheaton area). This is unfortunate as unless this individual (and another whose tags I've pulled from other fish) is working with the Canadian government (OMNR) or another research institution, they are not allowed to Floy tag muskies without permission. It is my knowledge that the OMNR does not issue permits to individuals. Very disappointning to see such behavior. Laws are put into the books for a reason, and for a handful of people to operate as if the law does not pertain to them is deplorable. If whoever is doing this tagging is reading this, please email me a copy of your permit so I can put this issue to rest and squelch anger amongst the local fishermen. Thanks, gentlemen...

The picture at the top of this post is intended to illustrate how little most of our fish have been moving immediately post-release. From the far left orange buoy to the far right yellow buoy is less than 50 feet. The middle yellow buoy is where the fish was tracked 10 mins post-release, the far right was at 30 mins, and the far left at one hour.

T Minus... 5

Last night before going to bed I checked the weather and a big cold front was forecasted to blow through in the morning. Rain, wind, cold temps giving way to sun, wind, and cold temps late morning...

Hedrik and I planned accordingly by getting up very early and making sure to get on the water shortly after sun-up. We were both on the same page as we agreed hitting one spot in particular would give us our best chance at a fish. The trick, however, would be finding the vegetation. As soon as we did that, it was off to the races!

Maybe 10 minutes after finding the vegetation and beginning our drift, I feel slack on my line even though the lure was coming back to the boat under constant tension. I didn't think anything of it at the time and just continued reeling figuring my lure was fouled in weeds. Then, I felt weight, but just a little. Then, more! So I reefed back on the rod and set the hook. The fish came to the surface head-shaking at Mach 3. In 35 seconds the fight was over and I was staring at our 25th fish to be affixed with a transmitter. After some minor struggling to get blood and push the "backpacker" through to affix the transmitter, the big male was returned to the water.

Shortly thereafter, the sun broke through and we called it quits! White caps everywhere!

[Note extremely fresh lamprey wounds on upper jaw.]

T Minus... 6

I had the extreme pleasure of fishing with Dale MacNair from the Ottawa chapter of MCI. Dale's been extremely kind to me as I've made my transition to Ottawa. He's offered to take me "fun fishing" on multiple occasions and even offered to help me find a place to live. Aside from being a good guy, he's also quite the fisherman. Last November (2008), Dale caught one of the (if not THE) largest muskies ever caught and released. The behemoth measured 57 inches in length with a mind-boggling 33 inch girth (the latter measurement was what made the catch "of world record proportions"). Heck, I don't even have a 33 inch waist! As a field editor and contributing writer for Muskies Inc.'s (stateside organization) magazine, I jumped at the opportunity to interview Dale. The tele-interview lasted over an hour, for which most of it I forgot to take notes since I was so enthralled in the story! After the interview, I told Dale I would look forward to fishing with him when I arrived in Ottawa this summer.

Today was the day I had been looking forward to for a long time. Eager with anticipation to hit the prime bite between 0700-0900, Dale and I ventured out to the mighty Ottawa River. Our plan was simple: fish good locations both casting and trolling. We began trolling a large piece of structure that has, historically, been good for Dale and his partners (and us, too, as we have four fish with transmitters on it). Trolling produced nothing, as did casting, so we moved on to another spot. Maybe less than 10 casts at this new location, a nice mid-40 inch muskie follows Dale's lure to the boat and veers away before Dale could go into a figure-8. We made a mental note and moved on.

On the other side of the structure was another buddy of ours: Keean Robertson also of the Ottawa chapter. Keean actually called me last night to see if I had a partner for today. I neglected to mention that though I was fishing with Dale in Dale's boat, I would be bringing all my sampling gear along. After we spoke with Keean on the water, he moved across the river and within minutes was releasing a fish. Dale and I jetted over a minute late as Keean was putting the net away. If I'd been on the ball the night before or that morning and told Keean we had all our sampling gear, the title of this post would be "T Minus... 5". Alas, I dropped the ball. Life goes on.

So Dale and I perservered, with nothing to show for our efforts. We decided casting wasn't going to cut it (bluebird skies + no wind + HOT = not great for casting), but trolling just might! So we proceeded to troll and worked our way toward the area that Dale raised his fish earlier that morning. As we passed over the spot the fish was seen at earlier, my reel's clicker sprang to life ZZZZ...ZZZZZ....ZZZZZ! Fifty-four seconds later and we were staring at a nice 45 inch muskie that we think was the same fish from earlier that morning.

The fish was given the gentle treatment, and no one was around to take pictures of the release, so no photographic evidence exists that we caught the fish (you'll have to take my word for it). The big male powered away and, as most of our other fish have done, went straight to the bottom and remained there for the next two hours.

Hopefully our good luck continues!

T Minus... 7

Though we worked on Labor Day... we were well rewarded! Three boats hit the river on the7th to help PNB in its home stretch of less than 10 fish needed to complete its goal of 30. Ed Lalonde and Chris "Pepe" Purdy (both of the Ottawa MCI chapter) piloted one boat; Kert Lavigne (Upper Valleye MCI) and Matt Clay (Ottawa MCI) another; and myself, Brian Peach and Hedrik Wachelka (both Ottawa MCI) captained the final boat. It was a day of tag-teaming in hopes of getting at least one fish...

Our boat began the morning with hardly any action, as was true for the other two boats. Later in the morning Hedrik had a nice low-40 inch class fish hammer his Bulldawg at the boat, clear the water with a nice jump, give Brian his daily shower, and finish with a wave of its fin [it got off]...

As noon approached, Kert connected with a nice, chunky 43" that was caught within eyesight of our boat. We blasted over, processed the fish, and commenced tracking. No sooner did we start when I look over and now Matt is battling a fish. We again come screaming in to find a mini-muskie sitting in the net. At just under 32" it is the smallest fish so far, but over 30" and thus OK to be sampled!

Apparently the lucky horseshoe was with Matt and Kert because neither our boat nor Chris and Ed could shake anything loose. Nevertheless, it was one of the best days on the water I've had in a while and a reminder that simply fishing with friends is just as much fun as catching the fish we pursue!

EXCELLENT Catch-and-Release Video

Will Schultz's Release Video (<--- click)

This is a truly excellent example of how to greatly reduce the handling time of your catch, while still preserving the memory through pictures. In fact, I haven't seen a better one out there. EVERYONE should watch this at least once. I've never met Will, but his reputation precedes him as a true ambassador of the sport. Thank you, Will, for taking the time to produce such a high quality, educational video.

In fact, since this blog is intended to be both fun AND educational I have made a permanent link to the video on the right margin under LINKS.

Waiting Game

As of September 1st the motor is still not fixed. I was hoping to return to Ottawa with a fully-functional motor, but I guess not!

Hiatus From Fishing

Motor is in the shop for repairs: prop and drive shafts bent, and clutch dog stripped (gear shifting mechanism). Almost 2K to fix. Also needing to return to Illinois for a bit. Will resume fishing at the end of August/early September.

Mystery Fish... Found

For the past 167 hours we have not been able to find fish #23. This was a fish that inhaled a Curly Sue and was bleeding a little. It hung around for about 30-45 mins before heading to deeper water where we tracked it in 15' at the 1-hour mark. After that, she vanished.

Today, however, we heard her again. Our transmitters cannot be heard if a fish is swimming in water 30'+ deep. She was in about 28' of water today!

So, despite being hooked badly and even bleeding a bit... fish #23 is still alive.

Big Figure-8 Fish... T-Minus Nine

With true summer weather upon us (high 80s/low 90s, lots of humidity) we've been trying to beat the heat and the flotillas of pleasure boaters by fishing the early morning bite. The last several fish have come in the morning before noon.

Yesterday we caught a 42.5" on a bucktail around 9AM and saw one other from the same spot (I botched it in the figure-8). So today we returned to the same spot.

At roughly 6:55AM casting over weeds in 5-6' of water, I watch as a big, gold torpedo shoots up and swipes at my bait... but misses. I continued reeling and the fish turned around and followed in. I lost sight of it for a second as I brought the bait across the bow of the boat from right to left. When I made a turn on the left side of the boat, the fish rolled up and continued following. I again lost sight of the fish as I proceeded across the bow from left to right. I was trying to get into position on the right side of the boat to make big, sweeping turns for the figure-8. As I tried moving the bait through a straightaway (still can't see anything), I suddenly couldn't move the bait forward anymore. Recognizing something was "wrong" my instinct was to SET THE HOOK. As I did, 51.5 inches of angry muskie started headshaking at my feet! The fish was in the net in 15 seconds.

She relinquished good blood and makes #21 with a transmitter, and the third 50"+ for the study. Oh, and shortly after releasing her I lost one at least the same size if not larger... You win some, you lose some.

I'd also like to take the time to mention and thank one of the project's sponsors. Okuma has provided us (reduced cost) with a few reels and (at the moment... hopefully more to come) one of their new EVX Musky rods. This big girl was caught using Okuma's new 9'3"H, telescoping rod. I've been more than impressed with the product. Excellent action, not too heavy for such a long rod, and a long butt section make this a great stick! These retail for $120-130 and come with a LIFETIME warranty. Pretty tough to beat!

Double Recap!

Just received an email from an Ottawa Chapter member that he caught fish #1236 which was previously recaptured by Larry Lambourne et al. Struck the same type of lure all three times!

Boatside Bruiser

Tyler Duncan and Hedrik helped me today with PNB. Tyler is a member of the Canadian Forces and leaves Sunday to continue training as a platoon leader. Last time the three of us were out we moved lots of fish and had a few strikes, but couldn't boat any.

Today we had one follow... and one MASSIVE strike at the boat from a thick 48" female that inhaled a Curly Sue. I bought a Hook Pick last year and today was the first time I've had to use it on a muskie. Boy am I ever glad I purchased it! The lure was 8" inside the fish's mouth and too deep for hook cutters and pliers.