NEW LONDON — These days it takes more than 10,000 sets to catch a big musky, and those who pursue these elusive pike are urging the state to do more to improve their numbers in the waters where they are managed.
The New London fish hatchery operated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources seeks to do just that.
For the first time in perhaps 25 or 30 years, the hatchery is once again raising muskellunge, or muskie fry, to stock lakes across the state.
The hatchery is busy raising approximately 50,000 musky fry, none of them fatter or longer than the average pine needle. They arrived about two weeks ago from the Waterville hatchery, where they hatched from eggs, according to hatchery manager Jeff Tellock. The eggs were taken from Plantagenet Lake south of Bemidji in Hubbard Country.
Tellock and his assistants are feeding and caring for the fry in two water-filled fiberglass tanks, also known as runs, in which they will grow to between 2 ½ and 3 ½ inches, and possibly up to 4 inches. Water from the Middle Fork of the Little Crow River is filtered and circulated through the tanks, and monitors ensure that oxygen levels never fall below necessary levels.
These fry are being fed a newly developed diet, and Tellock said it appears to be much better than the mix hatcheries have used in the past. Newborn muskies are most vulnerable during their first two weeks of life, and the new diet appears to have significantly improved their survival rate, he said.
The New London Fish Hatchery is raising musky fingerlings for the first time in more than two decades as part of an effort to improve the state’s elusive pike fishery. These fry are shown on June 5, 2024, or approximately two weeks after their arrival in New London from the Waterville hatchery, where they were raised from eggs.
Tom Cherveny / West Central Grandstand
Sometime this summer, the fry will be transferred to some of the 17 outdoor ponds on the hatchery property in New London. Instead of having human-made food sprayed in front of their faces, they will feed on small flathead fish raised for them.
Young muskies will grow to a fry size of around 10 to 12 inches in ponds. This fall, most of them will be stocked in some of the 102 lakes managed by the DNR for muskies.
Tellock will keep about 700 muskies over the winter by returning them to the hatchery tanks. The goal is to raise these muskies over the winter before returning them to the ponds next year. These select muskies will grow up to 17 inches before being stocked into the lakes.
Recent research has made this clear. The larger hatchery-raised muskies are when stocked, the better their chances of survival, Tellock explained.
The Waterville and St. Paul hatcheries also raise muskies for restocking.
The New London Hatchery raises between 30 and 60 million walleye fry each year. Muskies require more water per fish and more food, labor and time for the population, he said.
Fisheries technician Tim Swanson with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources holds a musky caught in walleye nets in Green Lake in 2023. There are no lakes managed for muskies in Kandiyohi County, but some of the elusive pike are known to ply the waters of Green and Nest lakes.
Contributed / Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
The New London Hatchery is well equipped for its role. It features a newly installed water filtration system, a separate UV light sterilization system and a heat exchange unit to maintain the necessary water quality. The water filtration system alone is capable of keeping the microscopic zebra mussel veligers, which are so small they are invisible to the human eye, from the waters of the hatchery tanks, the hatchery director said.
Local anglers who want a chance to catch these muskies someday will have to travel a bit. There are no lakes managed for muskies in the waters managed by the DNR fisheries staff based in Spicer. Tellock said some of these stocked muskies could find their way into the waters of the Horseshoe Chain of Lakes near Richmond and waters in the Glenwood area.
Tom Cherveny is a regional and outdoor reporter for the West Central Tribune.
He has been a reporter for the West Central Tribune since 1993.
You can contact Cherveny by email at tcherveny@wctrib.com or by phone at 320-214-4335.
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