By Louie Stout
The DNR’s annual muskie egg taking on Webster Lake produced good results and some interesting notes for Webster’s muskie anglers.
The DNR’s hatchery team got all the eggs they needed, but perhaps the biggest observation is the size of the fish the DNR was able to capture in their nets the first week of April.
“We caught the highest percentage we’ve ever caught of fish measuring between 40 and 46 inches,” says Indiana District Fisheries Biologist Tyler DeLauder. “It’s intriguing since we didn’t see those fish in previous years, so it could be an anomaly. We hope to see that continue into bigger fish. “
The majority of the fish captured were released alive after the egg-taking process that was conducted on the lake’s shoreline.
DeLauder went on to say that the increase could be due to a couple strong year classes, or the fish are growing better. He was seeing smaller fish, too.
“There are big ones out there, but you just have to find them,” he added. “The overall health of muskies is good.”
Interestingly, the team captured one 20-year-old female muskie that was first caught and tagged in 2010. It was 35 inches then, but this time only 40 inches. DeLauder found that baffling as the fish should have been in the upper 40s.
“Every time we’ve caught it, it’s been in the north end of the lake,” he says. “It seems to love up there, but there have been no reports of anglers catching it. “
Several Webster muskies are tagged.
Another added surprise is they captured a walleye for the second year in a row. The DNR doesn’t stock walleyes in Webster. Other fish found in the nets included a 5-pound bass and a 2 ¼-pound crappie.
The DNR set nets annually on the east and northeast side of the lake, but this year posted a net on the southwest corner and it also was productive.
If you want to learn more about the muskies that the DNR captured and other details, visit the DNR’s dashboard page for muskies at https://experience.arcgis.com.