* The original story in the Sawyer County Record misquoted John Dettloff saying that all 14 Muskies in the WDNR Study died (13 of 14 dead Muskies is a 92.8% mortality rate). Terry Margenau, a Department of Natural Resources Northern Region musky expert, spoke recently to the Hayward Lakes Chapter of Muskies Inc. about musky management issues, angler perceptions and ongoing research. He said that "It's difficult to say anything conclusive" about the results of a study of muskies now in its second year because of the small number of fish involved. Margenau indicated that "It's not unusual for some mortality to occur after muskies spawn, especially in older, larger fish which have been beat up in the spawning process." People need to make their own decisions after reading about the results of the studies, Margenau said. "I can't see a DNR regulation that you can't use a single hook. We don't want to limit (anglers) more than we have to." The DNR Problem At the heart of the problem is the WDNR...it sure doesn't take a degree is fishery biology to conclude that if you puncture the stomach of a Muskie with a larger hook while reefing back on your fishing rod, it is more likely to die than live. The WDNR has persistently abrogated its responsibility to take action that is in the best interest of the fishery citing that 'they just do the will of the people' and it is not their place [the WDNR] to act. I submit that this type of 'head in the sand' attitude on the part of the WDNR is no better than the disregard for the fishery health displayed by the Guides and anglers that put out set-lines during October and November.
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