Syracuse.com - Proposed tiger muskie restrictions on Otisco Lake spark opposition

[HuntingNY-News]

The state Department of Environmental Conservation's recent proposal to change the state's fishing regulations included increasing the minimum size limit of tiger muskies caught on Otisco Lake from 30 to 36 inches.

Submitted photoMargie Manthey, of Marietta, holds up a 36-inch tiger muskie she caught and released on Otisco Lake. She hooked the fish using a large spinnerbait. “Tiger muskies are one of the most striking fish out there and are an absolute thrill to tussle with, ” she said.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation’s recent proposal to change the state’s fishing regulations included increasing the minimum size limit of tiger muskies caught on Otisco Lake from 30 to 36 inches.

I discovered this week that the Onondaga Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, the Friends of the Carpenter’s Brook Fish Hatchery and the Otisco Rod and Gun Club are opposed to it for various reasons.

The DEC’s press release last month on this matter included other bodies of water.

The proposal read: “Implementing a 40-inch size limit for muskellunge and tiger muskellunge in the Chenango, Tioughnioga, Tioga and Susquehanna rivers and a 36-inch size limit at Otisco Lake to increase the trophy potential of these species in these waters. The current minimum size is 30 inches.”

I’ve heard nothing negative about the proposed 40-inch limit on the four rivers, but Otisco is a different story.

“The Federation does not support this new proposed change,” said Stephen Wowelko, the group’s president. “We were concerned with the limited public fishing access to the lake. How would fishermen take advantage of this trophy fish? The delegates also thought that a 30-inch fish was in itself a trophy.”

Wowelko added that he attended a recent board meeting of the Friends group, where it was noted the hatchery annually stocks thousands of two-year-old brown trout in Otisco. “Increasing the number of larger predator fish may have a direct impact on this fishery,” he said.

David Lemon, the regional fisheries manager at the DEC’s Cortland office, responded in an email to Wowelko’s points. He said changing the minimum size from 30 to 36 inches would simply delay the potential harvest of tigers about a year, nearly doubling the weight of these fish. He noted the 36-inch size limit was a compromise, a reaction to negative comments made by some anglers to the original 40-inch proposal on Otisco.

Tiger muskies are sterile hybrids, a cross between a muskie and a northern pike. Those stocked locally are raised at the DEC’s South Otselic hatchery.

“Our primary goal in stocking tigers is to create an opportunity for anglers to catch very large fish in waters that otherwise would not provide this possibility,” Lemon said. “The popularity of muskie/tiger muskie fishing has never been higher and the only way to grow large fish is by giving them a chance to grow larger.”

As for the brown trout question, Lemon responded: “We have no data to support that. Otisco Lake is marginally suited for trout survival.” He suggested that possibly more trout die as a result of warm summer temperatures in the lake (especially those fish that are caught and released by anglers) than those that gobbled up tigers.

One issue that was not addressed was the lack of a public boat launch on Otisco, where the only option for anglers with trailered boats is to pay at two private marinas to launch their craft.

The DEC is accepting public comment on the Otisco Lake tiger muskie proposal and other proposed changes through April 1. If approved, the changes would take effect Oct. 1.

Comments can be sent via e-mail to [email protected], or mailed to Shaun Keeler, New York State DEC, Bureau of Fisheries, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4753. For a complete list of the changes, see www.dec.ny.gov or www.syracuse.com/outdoors.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog