A decline in the number of adult muskie fish at Lake Webster in Kosciusko County has Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) biologists worried about a potential shortage of eggs to use in the state’s muskie stocking program.

 

Traditionally, Lake Webster is where biologists have caught adult female muskies to harvest eggs for Fawn River State Fish Hatchery in Orland.

 

“We need 15 to 20 ripe female muskies each spring to get enough eggs for hatching,” explained Tom Meyer, assistant manager at Fawn River. “From these eggs we are able to produce about 15,000 muskie fingerlings to stock 13 waters throughout the state.”

 

Last spring at Lake Webster, the DNR caught only 11 females “ripe” with eggs. To supplement the egg supply, biologists set traps in nearby James Lake, where six more female muskies were caught and provided additional eggs. “If necessary, the DNR will return to James Lake again this year,” Meyer said.

 

What caused the muskie decline at Lake Webster? He isn’t sure, but said steps have been taken to rebuild the population, and they seem to be working. Anglers are reporting catching more young muskies.

 

“We increased the amount of time that muskie fingerlings are fed minnows before stocking,” Meyer said. “We also started a study to see if stocking muskies in the spring, when more natural food is available, can increase their survival.”

 

To deal with the potential shortage of muskie eggs, hatcheries may be able adjust operations to prevent a drop in the number of fingerlings available to stock. Lake Webster provided some of the best muskie fishing in the Midwest a decade ago. “We’d like to restore its reputation,” Meyer said. “Our stocking program and muskie fishermen depend on it.”

 

Indiana lake trout limit increase Indiana is changing the daily bag limit for lake trout in Lake Michigan. On April 1, the limit will increase from two to three fish per day under an emergency rule, while waiting for a permanent rule to be approved.

 

Indiana biologists used input from multiple user groups in crafting the regulation. The increase will put Indiana in sync with Michigan’s bag limit. Since many Indiana boaters routinely fish in both states during the same trip, having the same bag limit for both states will make fishing less complicated.

 

Additionally, the increased bag limit will offer more harvest opportunity for lake trout in the spring and fall, when they are readily available in Indiana waters. The near-shore fishery for lake trout is becoming more popular. Biologists are confident the lake trout population can sustain the additional harvest pressure. The lake trout population has been increasing in the southern basin due to the changing Lake Michigan

ecosystem.

 

Harden Lake fish habitat Fish and anglers both will benefit from a DNR habitat project at Cecil M. Harden (Raccoon) Lake.

 

DNR fisheries biologists and partner organizations hope to develop more than 350 fish habitat features in the lake by the end of 2018. The project includes rock piles, brush piles, wooden structures and clusters of vertical posts.

 

The improvements at Raccoon Lake are the second such project by a yearold initiative of the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife called the Reservoir Aquatic Habitat Enhancement Program. It builds fish habitat in reservoirs lacking natural structure. The first project involved Sullivan Lake.

 

“We are building on what we learned at Sullivan Lake and including more partners in our latest project,” said Sandy Clark-Kolaks, DNR southern fisheries research biologist.

 

Raccoon Lake is a 2,060-acre U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control impoundment near Rockville. Each winter the Corps draws down water levels by 22 feet, which impedes aquatic vegetation growth. Aquatic vegetation is a key factor in fish habitat. Partners in the project include the Corps, Bass Unlimited and the Indiana Bass Federation.

 

This winter, the DNR placed three rock pile complexes at locations near the Raccoon Ramp and marina. A rock pile complex consists of large rock placed in 1-ton piles. Twenty piles are placed in a one-acre space.

 

A volunteer day will take place at the lake this fall. Volunteers will help DNR biologists build more than 100 wooden habitat structures to place in the lake over winter.