By Louie Stout

Do You Like Catching Indiana Muskies? Thank Mark Zeak

When Mark Zeak opened the Tribune to the sports section last November, a big smile spread across his face.

Pictured with this column was Mason Alvarado with a 32-pound muskie caught from the St. Joseph River.

“I helped start this whole muskie thing in Indiana many years ago,” said the 72-year-old Mishawaka resident.

And that he did. If it weren’t for Zeak’s initiative and persistence, Indiana’s Webster Lake may not have become one of the top muskie fisheries in the Midwest.

Retired Indiana fisheries biologist Jed Pearson remembers it well.

“Mark was definitely responsible for launching the muskie program in northern Indiana,” Pearson said. “His determination and efforts to get everyone involved was instrumental in the Webster Lake fishery that exists today.”

Zeak’s determination was fueled years ago as a teenager while fishing for muskies in Canada.

“It took me four years to catch one,” he joked. “The longer it took, the more determined I became.”

As his skills progressed, he began thinking about how great it would be to not have to drive 800 miles to catch one.

“A guy told me about a national group called Muskies, Inc., so I looked into it and we formed a local chapter in January of 1978,” Zeak recalled.

Shortly thereafter, he began probing the Michigan and Indiana DNRs about a stocking program. Michigan officials showed little interest, but former Indiana Fisheries Chief Bill James, who has since retired, was curious.

“Bill said Indiana had always wanted a muskie program up here but had very little success stocking fry in Webster,” Zeak said. “I told him we wanted to stock bigger fish we’d buy from a hatchery.”

The details were worked out; Michiana Muskies, Inc. got a permit to stock 300 muskies measuring 15 to 18 inches annually for five years. The Indiana DNR would take over after that.

“The problem was we only had 25 guys and 300 muskies were going to cost us $3,000,” Zeak said. “We had no idea where we were going to get the money, and yet if we let the state down we’d mess it up for other clubs wanting to stock a lake.”

The club initiated fund raisers but Zeak was concerned that wasn’t going to carry them financially throughout the five-year agreement.

“One day, a friend took me to Gun Lake (north of Kalamazoo) and told me there were a few muskies in there,” Zeak said. “I looked at this lake and saw resorts, gas stations, restaurants and realized it was the perfect place to host a tournament and raise money.”

The contest was open to bass, pike, walleye and muskies and drew 175 contestants the first year.

“We ran that tournament for six years and that’s how we were able to fund the stocking program,” Zeak said. “We also had enough funds to write a check to the Gun Lake Protective Association to help subsidize its walleye stocking program.”

The club’s first Webster Lake stocking occurred in September of 1981. In 1984, the DNR began increasing stocking numbers with muskies it grew in its hatchery.

“Mark met with the lake association and sold them on the project as well,” Pearson said. “It was a good example of how the DNR working with anglers and lake residents can accomplish good things.”

Ultimately, the DNR took over the project, and in the late 1990s, began trapping adult muskies at Webster Lake for eggs to create subsequent stockings. (This spring’s stocking was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak).

Years after the Michiana Muskies Inc. disbanded, the Hoosier Muskie Hunters worked a deal with the Indiana DNR to stock muskies in Lake Tippecanoe and Barbee Chain that also provide a good muskie fishery.

As the DNR learned more and more about raising muskies, it expanded stockings to other lakes, such as Skinner, Upper Long, Bruce, and Loon.

At 72, Zeak still owns Zeak’s Carpet Craftsmen business in Mishawaka. He sold his boat a few years ago and doesn’t get to fish as much as he likes.

But when he sees those pictures of smiling anglers holding big muskies caught from nearby waters, he can feel good knowing that his efforts helped put that smile on their faces.