When we finally got to the ramp we found the river was much lower than when we last visited (a good thing as it concentrates the fish more). We fired up the generator, donned our stylish rubber gloves and rubber boots, and off we went! Within a few minutes the electricity pulsing through the water spooked a small muskie that leapt out of the way. It was a good sign as a short while later at a popular casting spot we electofished a small male, inserted a transmitter, sewed him up, and let him go in less than 8 minutes! THAT officially marked the beginning of this phase of Project Noble Beast.
Shortly thereafter we shocked up two muskies within close proximity to each other, one likely a female and the other a male. This indicated to use that perhaps some of the muskies are preparing to spawn and are staging at or just outside preferred spawning areas. Again, both muskies had accelerometers inserted inside their bodies, given two small stitches, and released. We capped the day off with one more male.
Accelerometer transmitters with a quarter to show their relative size.
Preparing the first stitch and using a pair of forceps to block the suture needle from piercing any internal organs.
Close-up of the incision and the beginning of the first stitch.
Our intention is to capture eight muskies via electrofishing and another eight via angling later on. We will continue to electrofish tomorrow and into next week, before I head back to British Columbia.
Gotta say, playing Doctor with muskies is pretty fun! (Good thing they don't know I stunk at the game "Operation" when I was a kid... I can still hear that buzzer blaring at me everytime I tried to remove the wish bone.)
Finishing the last few wraps of a stitch. Dr. Steven Cooke looks on.
Pretty cool stuff Sean! Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeletePlus, now I know that if I ever need stitches while in your boat I'll be in good hands!
Very cool Sean. Won't be long before the rods come out....
ReplyDelete