Northwest Fishing Reports

just thought i'd throw out there some of the observations muskyhunter28 and i have made in the past few years regarding growth rates.

in 2005 muskyhunter28 caught our first tiger musky it was so small we didn't even bother measuring it. 5 months and a few days later and about 100 feet from the release point our dad caught the very same fish, considerably bigger. so much so that we didn't notice it was the same fish till two years later and we were comparing stripe patterns and fin shapes. we photo everything and like to look at em when not on the water. anyhow when they are small they grow fast! duh

last week, muskyhunter28 caught a 43" fish which upon some picture comparisons turns out to be the 42.5" fish i caught almost a year ago about 300 yards from the same spot! this fish has a deformed gill and we named him Gill... the nice thing about digital camera's is that you can take a ton of photo's and do stupid stuff like this.

anyhow, i know there are a bunch of growth studies and such out there that say the same thing. but it's kind of cool knowing that the fish you caught and released really is going back to grow bigger to be caught again another day. though he bit on a completely different type of lure this time.

anyone else catch the same fish twice or more?

Well, yes, there was a little guy (about 28") squatting on a fallen tree just outside Speelyai Bay in Merwin Lake a couple years ago that Mike, Tony, and I took turns catching. Boated him twice in two consecutive days ... or maybe it was thrice in three days, I don't exactly remember ... he finally wised up and moved to a different neighborhood.

Don Wittenberger wrote:Well, yes, there was a little guy (about 28") squatting on a fallen tree just outside Speelyai Bay in Merwin Lake a couple years ago that Mike, Tony, and I took turns catching. Boated him twice in two consecutive days ... or maybe it was thrice in three days, I don't exactly remember ... he finally wised up and moved to a different neighborhood.

That was one hungry fish!!!

Or which means this dumb fish actually smartened up and moved eh? Which throws out the the "these fish are dumb" theory correct Donly?

Even an oyster will move if you throw enough rocks at it, but that doesn't mean it should get a scholarship to Harvard.

Anyone know how much they grow in a year?

Don Wittenberger wrote:Even an oyster will move if you throw enough rocks at it, but that doesn't mean it should get a scholarship to Harvard.

.....HOWL!!....:study: :study:

Good one, Don.
R

"Anyone know how much they grow in a year?"

Growth rates vary between individual fish, of course, but in general a 12 to 14 inch fingerling should be approximately 28 inches on its next birthday and maybe 38 inches, give or take, on the birthday after that.

I was thinking more on the lines of a skolaship at Wazzu!!
I did catch a 18" Tiger last sunday that may have been a 12-14" fish released last year at Tapps..

Tiger muskies grow much faster than a true muskellunge and will never exceed the lengths of a true muskie(meaning the chances of catching a 55inch tiger are slim....but possible)
My source...."Northern Pike and Muskie,Tackle and Techniques for Catching Trophy Pike and Muskies"
Its a great read for anyone interested in these species.

It also depends on the temperature of the water. If the water is warmer they grow slower. Cooler water they tend to grow a bit faster.

muskyhunter wrote:It also depends on the temperature of the water. If the water is warmer they grow slower. Cooler water they tend to grow a bit faster.

Did not know that.I figured that would be reversed.

True story read back when I could read...its kinda like humans. It gets hot and we don't move around to much. Fish do the same..

Wow, Learn something new every day!
Thanks Todd!

Yes you do my friend, yes you do...........