By John Cross
Free Press Staff Writer
WATERVILLE — Every so often, finned lightening strikes an unsuspecting angler fishing Lake Tetonka near Waterville.
Photographs of the rare events wind up on area resort and bait shop bragger boards or the pages of the local paper as smiling anglers hefts whopper muskellunge stretching more than four feet long and weighing 30 pounds or more.
The unexpected trophies have been escapees from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fish hatchery where until 2003, the toothsome predators were hatched and then as fry placed in nearby rearing ponds to grow.
Hatchery manager Hugh Valiant said the accidental stocking probably happened as fingerlings escaped the nets and found their way into Tetonka as the ponds were drained.
But the fact that the fish have attained such trophy status, Valiant said, suggests that the lake provides good habitat for the species.
Recently, the DNR floated a plan that would make hooking a muskie in the Le Sueur County lake more frequent by implementing a stocking plan that would establish a resident population of the predator fish over the next decade.
Jack Lauer, DNR Regional Fisheries Manager in New Ulm, said the project would be keeping with the DNR’s long range plan for muskellunge and large pike management through 2020.
That plan, which was drawn up by a working group of citizens and DNR personnel, called for, among other things, creating eight new muskie fisheries.
Right now, someone hoping to hook up with a muskellunge in southern Minnesota has limited choices.
Of the 116 Minnesota waters now managed for the toothsome trophy, only three — French Lake in Rice County, Fox Lake in Martin County and Lake Zumbro in Olmsted County — are located in southern Minnesota.
The remainder are located from the Metro area northward.
“Tetonka has all the biological criteria and social considerations that would make it a good muskie lake, “Lauer said. He said a combination of habitat and forage base make it an ideal candidate for muskie management.
Understandably, groups like Muskies, Inc., a fishing group devoted to muskie angling, are enthusiastic about the plan.
However, several local groups have expressed opposition to stocking muskies in Lake Tetonka.
Erv Halstead, president of the Minnesota Darkhouse Association and a member of the Waterville Sportsmen’s Club said his groups oppose the measure for several reasons. Likewise, the Waterville Lakes Association is less than enthused.
“Lake Tetonka is on the Cannon River Chain and what is done there affects all 12 lakes,” he said. “Stock Tetonka with muskies and you stock the whole chain,” he said.
He also said his group is concerned about the effect the large predator fish might have on resident populations of other species. “The DNR says muskies mainly eat white suckers and drum, but what happens when those are gone? Our concern is what the lake will be like 20 or 30 years from now.”
The group also is concerned about boat traffic, congestion at landings, the threat of outsiders bringing in exotic invasive species, and the cost.
The proposed Tetonka plan calls for an initial stocking of 548 fall fingerlings 10-12 inches long every other year over a period of seven years using fish hatched and raised at the Waterville facility.
Lauer said that Tetonka’s good habitat should hold most of the stocked fish in the lake and that with such low stocking densities, it would be highly unlikely that the rare fish that might migrate from the lake could establish sustainable populations. What’s more, stocked muskies are unable to reproduce in southern Minnesota lakes.
Numerous studies have shown that concerns of the impact of predatory muskies on other species, especially walleye, at such low densities are largely without merit.
Valiant cited French Lake, which has been managed for muskies since 1974 where evidence suggests the fishing for other species remains very good.
“You just had to take a look at all the houses on French Lake this winter — it is Rice County’s Lake Washington,” he said, referring to the fishing crowds attracted to the popular lake east of Mankato.
The DNR has had one focus meeting with the various factions and will hold another one Tuesday. The focus will be to dispel some of the hype and myth surrounding muskie stockings with facts.
“We knew there’d be some differences of opinion,” Valiant said. “These focus groups are an added step to reach out to the local community ... an opportunity to talk about it in a constructive manner.”
The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on the issue of stocking muskies in Tetonka when public input meetings will be scheduled this fall. If approved, the stocking plan could be implemented in 2011.
