Firsthand Field Report -- Northwest Ontario, Canada

“The last four years I’ve seen numbers of fish from the strong 1995 through 1997 year-classes,” he says. “Those muskies are 48 to 52 inches long. The 2000 to 2003 year-classes also are strong, and those fish are showing up as 38- to 45-inchers. As these muskies grow, I expect to see a few really big fish in the 54- to 56-inch range. Then I expect a slight drop-off, but still a few glory years after that.”

The story is much the same everywhere you go in the region, from remote lakes like Manitou, Rowan, and Longlegged to more accessible waters like Pelican, Abram, Botsford, Minnitaki, Big Vermilion, and Lac Seul. Muskie populations generally appear to be flourishing.

Even in lakes like Lac Seul, where fishing pressure spiked after anglers descended on the Root River section of the lake in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, there weren’t enough big fish for every angler to kill his or her personal best, even if it was only a single fish. Within a few short years, the catch-per-unit-effort data showed it was taking anglers twice as long to catch a muskie half as large as it was before the word got out. A total catch-and-release muskie regulation was implemented on the giant reservoir and it’s paying off.

“Not that long ago, it was quite a search to locate a muskie,” says Colin Gosse, head guide at Moosehorn Lodge. “And it seemed you could only find them in select areas of the lake. Now muskies have migrated throughout Lac Seul and there’s nowhere you can’t hunt for them. I find new haunts all the time. I caught a 46.5-inch muskie on a jig and minnow last season while fishing for walleye. The muskie population is bigger than it has ever been.”

Big Fish Numbers: Up, Down, the Same?

One of my best days fishing on Lake of the Woods happened about 20 years ago when four of us, in two boats, caught and released seven fish between 22 and 42 pounds. We missed three other giants.

Multiple big-fish days back then were common. They’re much less so today. But that doesn’t mean there are fewer fish or that a new world record isn’t possible. Instead, I suspect the same numbers of big fish are being caught; they’re just being spread over a much bigger pool of anglers.

I can remember when I’d rarely see another fisherman bulging a bucktail or ripping a jerkbait. Today, it’s common to trail behind other muskie anglers fishing a prime spot. But the fish are still there. Doug Johnson sees it in his journal.

“When I first began serious muskie fishing in the early 1960s,” he says, “there were a good number of commercial fishermen on Lake of the Woods. And there wasn’t much of a catch-and-release ethic among muskie anglers. One of my first guide jobs was a group of 20 anglers. The limit back then was two muskies a day, 28 inches or bigger. At the end of the trip, we took a group photo with 40 muskies hanging from a pole.” So, even though there wasn’t much pressure, the number of fish killed was more than we experience today.

Indeed, for much of the last half of Johnson’s career on the big lake, with moderate fishing pressure and almost total catch-and-release, he says about 10 percent of his catch has averaged 48 inches or better. As the muskie fishing pressure has increased over the last ten years, however, that percentage has dropped. He acknowledges the dip may be due to fluctuating year-class strengths and even his refusal to try new water. “Right now, I’m back to seeing the 10-percent rule again,” he says. “I think that’s pretty good for any fishery.”