A total of 1,554 logs were completed by MCI members for Ontario waters during the 2008 fishing season. Volunteer anglers reported fishing for 22,913.0 hours on 51 different waterbodies to catch 1,183 muskellunge. This represents an overall catch-per-unit-effort of 0.052. Based on a sample size of 1,195 fish, the average size of muskellunge angled in 2008 measured 37.2 inches in length. The size of angled fish ranged from 10.0 to 59.0 inches in length. There were a total of 44 angled muskellunge which exceeded 50 inches in length during the 2008 season. The largest angled muskellunge, measuring 59 inches in length, was angled from the St. Lawrence River in October, 2008. Only five of 1,183 muskellunge angled in 2008 were reportedly released. This represents a release rate in excess of 99%. Five fish, all angled from the Ottawa River, bore lamprey marks.
Catch and Release Muskie Fishing – Let Them Go – Let Them Grow