Conesus Lake- Monster Tiger Musky (dead)!!!

[Tournament Drifter]

Came across a dead floating tiger musky this morning on Conesus Lake. What a fish, I measured it at 48”s give or take 1”. I didn’t bring it onboard due to its decomposition, but this fish was huge. I know the girth was exaggerated by bloating, but the head and mouth weren’t, same per length.  I’ve caught some tigers in the upper teens and been on board for pike in the low 20’s. This carcass made me want to fish for tiger’s, I always thought there were some true monsters in there.  This confirms it!!!   The state record stands at 35.8 lbs. I now think a fish from Conesus could break that!

[Jigwiggler]

That's what great about Tigers they grow so fast.    48" long in a lake with that much feed, 35 lbs is very possible, maybe more.

[Tournament Drifter]

Conesus Lake has alewifes being the primary fuel. Tiger muskys were released in hopes of keeping alewife #’s in check! For the Walleye stocking program, at this time looks like they should have stocked a larger size eye!!!  They put in 2” fingers , which is mostly a bait fish size! Gobbled –Up and gone!!!  There are other ways! I prefer to give my tax-dollars toward a better managed fishery

[Jigwiggler]

T Drifter,
     You're right,  walleyes reach 6" in the first year.  If they were kept at the hatchery until that point or longer and then released into deep weed beds by boat instead of being dumped in at the boat launches for every bass, pike and musky to eat, the stocking program would be much more sucessful.

[Tournament Drifter]

Jigwiggler'

I don't know the cost differential, between a 2” walleye and a 6”walleye raised in the hatchery! But if a 6” eye has the ability to survive in the lake …Than that  6” fish is worth the extra  time & cost!!! Its easy and cheap for the DEC to stock 2” fish ,but if the survival rate isn’t there than why do so

[Jigwiggler]

Yes, it would be better if they raised less fish to the 6" mark than tons of 2"ers.  Walleye fry grow faster than any fish that I know of and the hatchery is taking advantage of this and dumping them after only a few months.  If they raised less walleyes fo as long as they do most other species they would be much more successful and all they would have to do is adjust the numbers of fish raised until the cost evened out. Genius at work.

[Ifishy]

I dont know what your all complaning about.  I've fished a lot of different places in this state and this lake has some of the biggest gamefish around.  if it costs the same to release 10 times as many 2 inchers than i say do it because the bass pike and muskie feed on them but cant possible eat all of them plus those fish can easily eat a 6 inch fish as well hell i use minnows that size through the ice for pike and have used plugs that are bigger than that for bass.  plus i managed to get down to the inlet this year to see the walleye run.  there aint a d**n thing wrong with the population of that lake so quit complaning thats one of the better fishereys in the state there doing something right.

[Jigwiggler]

I dont know what your all complaning about.  I've fished a lot of different places in this state and this lake has some of the biggest gamefish around.  if it costs the same to release 10 times as many 2 inchers than i say do it because the bass pike and muskie feed on them but cant possible eat all of them plus those fish can easily eat a 6 inch fish as well hell i use minnows that size through the ice for pike and have used plugs that are bigger than that for bass.  plus i managed to get down to the inlet this year to see the walleye run.  there aint a d**n thing wrong with the population of that lake so quit complaning thats one of the better fishereys in the state there doing something right.

What are you part of the DEC stocking program?    A 2" fingerling is vulnerable to any fish in that lake from a 6" blue gills to the biggest fish in the lake.  A 6" fish has exponentially less predators due to the fact that they are 3X's as large as 2" fish and wouldn't be likely meals for the thousands upon thousands of panfish that populate the lake.  That is all that I was saying.

[bayonne]

the best thing for keeping forage in check is hybredstipers they are eating machines and dont repruduce so they wont over populate and boy are they fun to catch they fight like hell and the top warter action is awsome

[Tournament Drifter]

2002-2003 Conesus Lake Walleye Fingerling Stocking
Success Evaluated.

Nighttime electrofishing in accordance with the DEC’s
Percid Sampling Manual was conducted October 8-9,
2002. The purpose of the survey was to evaluate the
success of fingerling walleye stocking done in the
summers of 2001 and 2002. No age 1+ walleye from
the 2001 stocking nor young of year from the 2002
stocking were captured. Data analysis is still
underway, although it appears that predation from predators
greater than 381 mm is likely to be high.


The debate between 6" fingerlings and 2" fry (fingerling) is a good one. If I have some time I will be glad to argue this. Especially as it pertains too Conesus Lake.

Ifishy, it's not about complaining!  Just an opinion!  Hope you’re a fisheries biologist, maybe you can straighten me out…. If not, I hope too help you?
 

[Fishingking]

the problem with walleye  is that the cost for feed is incrediable you know that  at  Onieda state hatchery they spend  between 40-80 grand to feed walleye every spring and to grow a walleye to 6" is not cost effective at all at over 25 dollars a gallon for fathead minnows to feed the walleye the cost just doesnt add up and that is why the state will stock 1 million fry into a lake instead of 1,000  6" fish into the lake at the same cost  when walleye hatch they needto be fed once eery 5 or 15 minutes or they will start nipping at each other  they will nip fins off (this then allows fungus to grow on the wouded part which then cost more money to treat and kills more walleye)or try to eat another walleye head first and ussually that results in  both of the fish dying

rasing walleye in circular tanks or flowthorugh raceways has not been perfected yet so most walleye raising pasrt the fingerling stage is done in grow out ponds and this is hard because you cant see the fish anymore and trapping them often can be hard  and stressfull ofn fish so  growing walleye in ponds is not an effective way  but is the only cost effective way right now to raise numbers of eyes


at my school we were working on Walleye reintroduction into Otsego Lake  and the first year we stocked 1-3 inch walleye into the lake during the day and then trapped  predator species soon after and found the predation of walleye was high so we then decided to stock the walleye at night  to give them a chance to get down and hide in the weeds  (similar to what Salmon river hatchery does with the salmon because of the commorant problem in Lake Ontario) anyways theres ways around predation of smaller fish


also if a private aquaculturist was to raise 6" walleyes he'd be broke and out of bussiness after the first year

the only way to make money in the buss. is to produce  numbers  of a certain size fish the fastest and cheapest way possible and right now raising a walley to 6" has not been researched enough to make it economically feasiable