This report summarizes muskellunge angling information collected by members of the Muskies Canada Incorporated (MCI) organization on a number of Ontario waters during a sixteen year period extending from 1979-1994. Three hundred and eighty anglers participated in the volunteer angler diary program during that time. These anglers reported an angling effort of 46,668 rod hours to catch a total of 3,054 muskellunge. Only 112 (3.7%) of these muskellunge were reportedly harvested. Angling quality, expressed in terms of catch-per-unit-effort (CUE), varied between years and among waterbodies. The overall CUE for the study period (all waterbodies combined) was 0.065. Several large southeastern Ontario river systems and the Kawartha lakes received the bulk of muskellunge directed angling effort and related catches. The largest muskellunge captured was a fish measuring 58.25 inches (148 cm) in length with a girth of 28.5 inches (72.4 cm). Biological information and effort-catch records are summarized for individual waterbodies and recommendations are offered for future volunteer angler programs. The information obtained from this volunteer program represents some of the best muskellunge data currently available in Ontario and it is highly recommended that this program be continued in the future.
Catch and Release Muskie Fishing – Let Them Go – Let Them Grow