If you ever hear a Midwesterner point out the \u201cfish of 10,000 casts,\u201d you will be certain they\u2019re speaking about muskies. Every area in North America has its personal fish species that represents the top of angling prowess, from allow within the Florida Keys to steelhead within the Pacific Northwest. These fish are nearly all the time on the bigger and rarer facet of the spectrum, which is a part of why they\u2019ve change into shrouded in thriller and idolized by anglers through the years. This is particularly true of muskies, therefore the nickname. But why are muskies so arduous to catch? <\/p>\n
A group of researchers on the University of Illinois not too long ago got here up with some definitive, science-based solutions to that age-old query. They did this by learning a gaggle of muskies in a laboratory setting after which fishing for them for 35 days straight in a managed atmosphere. Their outcomes have been revealed within the North American Journal of Fisheries Management<\/a> late final month. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n This scientific inquiry into why muskies are often called the fish of 10,000 casts was led by University of Illinois graduate scholar John Bieber together with Bieber\u2019s advisor, Dr. Cory Suski. Dr. Suski explains that the thought behind the experiment got here from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources<\/a>, which raises muskies in hatcheries and releases them in water our bodies throughout the state. The DNR had been conducting netting surveys at one explicit lake, and after seeing the sheer variety of muskies that lived there, they have been curious why catch charges weren\u2019t greater.<\/p>\n So, the company loaned 68 hatchery-raised muskies to Bieber and Suski, who spent the subsequent a number of weeks learning these fish in a laboratory setting. Each fish was individually microchipped and positioned in a tank, the place the researchers ran experiments 4 most important behavioral traits: exercise, aggression, boldness, and exploration.<\/p>\n \u201cFish do have personalities,\u201d Suski explains, \u201cjust like other animals and people.\u201d<\/p>\n After gauging and recording every muskie\u2019s character, the researchers then took the 68 fish and stocked them in an experimental pond. The pond was emptied of different aquatic species beforehand, and so they stuffed it with minnows so that every one the muskies have been content material and equally well-fed.<\/p>\n Then got here the enjoyable half. Bieber and Suski fished the experimental pond with typical gear for 35 days straight. They lined each inch of water utilizing each mixture of lure and presentation they might consider. At the top of the 35 days, they’d caught seven fish.<\/p>\n Suski says the most important takeaway from the experiment was that sure muskies have been extra \u201cpredisposed to capture\u201d primarily based on their character traits. He explains that total, the fish they caught have been bigger, much less exploratory, and fewer aggressive than the others. This additionally falls according to the species\u2019 total feeding habits. As solitary apex predators, muskies wish to patiently lie in wait after which ambush their prey instantly. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey just prefer to live under a log by themselves,\u201d Suski says. \u201cWe have to basically hunt for them and hit them in the face with a lure. And we tend to only hook them when they\u2019re sitting still and quiet and are ready to clobber something.\u201d<\/p>\nHow Researchers Tested Their Theories<\/h2>\n
Lessons Learned from Muskie Fishing for 35 Days Straight <\/h2>\n