Lull

There is a lull in our fish-catching action. We are still seeing fish, including several yesterday in a short three hour period. Two of the fish we moved struck gliders (one left a tooth in the bait). We just couldn't connect the dots.

Success Again!

Zach Zuckerman and Niels Carlson (employees of the Illinois Natural History Survey) joined me yesterday for a day of tracking and fishing. We got to the river late due to storm cells rolling through the area, but fishing picked up toward evening. Zach was able to catch a 34" on topwater that we were able to take blood from (no transmitter). We had a couple more follows, and one small guy that tried to eat a Dinnerbell in the figure 8. Hopefully we will be able to find fish midday so we can continue affixing transmitters!

Congrats and thank you, Zach! Now it's Niels' turn... :)

Go Figure

Another Masters student, Chris Pullen, came out with me yesterday. Fishing was slow despite a nice front approaching. However, just before my cut-off time for being able to affix fish with transmitters (7:00PM), at 6:43 Chris popped a 41" on a figure 8. I had just been explaining how fish often follow bucktails and appear from nowhere and that looking behind the bait is critical (versus just watching the bait come in). Shortly after I explained that the fish appeared behind his bait, turned in the 8, and struck after the first full 8.

We took blood, did our reflex impairment tests, put a Floy tag in, and strapped it with a transmitter. She appeared to recuperate fairly quickly and moved to the channel edge (in fairly constant motion) by two hours post-release. I go back today to find it at the 24 hour mark.

Reflex Impairment Tests

There was a question regarding reflex impairment tests. This is a relatively new concept that was developed on the West coast by a biologist working with fish species caught as by-catch. He found that some of the species caught as by-catch did not display certain standard reflexes as a result of the commercial netting taking place, and he was later able to trace these reflex impairments to mortality.

Each fish species has its own set of unique reflexes, but there are some that can be applied to most (e.g., does the fish have equilibrium?). Some of these reflexes include dorsal fin erection, the gag reflex, mouth and operculum (gill plate) closure when gently pried open, body flex upon restraint, whether the fish has equilibrium, vestibular-ocular rotation (do the fish's eyes follow you as you rotate the fish along its longitudinal axis?). The aforementioned reflexes are typically done with the fish restrained. We are using all of the above except for the first two. Also, some reflexes can be done with the fish "free-swimming". These include whether the fish bursts away upon release and whether it swims downward upon release. We are using these tests as well.

Some might ask, "So what?" These reflex impairment tests are pretty cool as ANYONE can do them. It is our goal to try and validate them as good indicators of fish stress and survival. If we can do so and show particular reflexes may be correlated with stress and survival, these can be easy "field checks" that anglers can do to assess the condition of their catch. By doing so, it may be possible for the angler to evaluate how their handling may be affecting the fish. Ultimately, if an angler sees a pattern in their handling practices that appears to be detrimental to the fish (based on the reflex impairment tests), they may be able to change their (the angler's) behavior, change their handling practices, and increase the survival of future catches.

Put it on the board... Yes!

Yesterday (6/22) marked the start of Project Noble Beast. I was joined by two German fisheries biologists (specializing in pike). We had a good day...

Dr. Arlinghaus worked his German magic on the Canadian muskies by snap jigging a Jig-A-Beast at the base of a deep weedline. We soon had our first data point of the study... a fatty 47" (which I am holding)! We strapped it with a transmitter and tracked her for the next two hours (Floy tag and transmitter can be seen in the bottom photo). It proceeded, upon release, to immediately head into shallow DENSE (100% coverage) weeds where it stayed for the remainder of the tracking period. We went back today to track it at the 24 hour mark and it had moved from the shallow weed cover out to the base of a nearby weedline.

Not to be outdone by our friends over-seas, we continued to fish the evening bite. In 45 minutes we had action from 4 fish (2 follows and 2 strikes), with 3 of the 4 fish coming after a Weagle. Toward the end of the evening I caught a 46.5" on a Weagle roughly 25' from the boat. Due to there being a difference in fish diurnal and nocturnal movements, this fish did not get strapped with a transmitter, but we did do some reflex impairment tests so all was not wasted.

Hopefully the strong evening bite continues and we are able to get more data (I mean fish)!

EDIT: I checked the lunar phase on Monday after noticing the sliver-of- a-moon tonight and found that it was indeed a new moon on Monday. Not surprising then that the action was good!

T-Minus...

Today we just got word that the transaction to buy the project's boat is a GO and we should have the boat in by late next week. This means the project should begin within the next 10-14 days!

We first began looking for Lowe Roughnecks (1760 model), but were unable to locate any. We have chosen a Tracker 1754 Grizzly AWL that will be fitted with a 25HP Mercury motor (as well as a trolling motor of unknown size and manufacturer). The flat bottom makes this the ideal work boat, especially considering the amount of gear we will have with us each day (rods, tackle boxes, holding trough, several Pelican Cases of field physiology equipment, etc.). The front deck is ideal for casting, which makes this the perfect work/fish boat for the project.

EDIT: We've now got a brand new 30HP Merc (sorry E-Rude and Yammi lovers :) ) slapped on the back and a 55lb Powerdrive V2 on the front. Also purchased a simple Eagle FishEasy 320C for a depthfinder. Most, if not all, of my fishing will be done from the back of the boat. The holding trough fits nicely in the bottom of the boat and my Lakewood will double nicely as a seat. It has turned out to be an excellent rig for our needs....

Now we just need to build a cage for the boat so that it can be doubled as an electrofishing rig. :)

Project Supporters

Before our project begins, I'd like to take a quick moment to thank those that have supported this undertaking through funding or tackle/equipment donations.

Muskies Canada (http://www.muskiescanada.ca/index.php)
Muskies Inc. (http://www.muskiesinc.org) and the Hugh C. Becker Foundation

Frabill nets (http://www.frabill.com)
St. Croix rods (http://www.stcroix.com)
Okuma reels (http://www.okumafishing.com)
TUFF Line (http://www.wfilament.com/rec/tuf.html)
String-Ease Tackle (Stay-Lok Snaps) (http://www.stringease.com)
Gerber Tail Co. (www.dinnerbellmuskies.com)