Lake St. Clair

"Muskie Fishing Days"

The Michigan Department of Natural Resouces (DNR) will coordinate sampling of live muskie with volunteer anglers on four dates during 2003. The purpose of the sampling will be to further investigate infection of Lake St. Clair muskellunge with Piscirickettsia bacteria.

Volunteer anglers must register with the MDNR prior to the fishing day. Registered volunteers will be provided with a permit to allow retention of sublegal muskellunge and exceedence of the daily limit. The Michigan DNR will set up a holding tank at the Mt. Clemens Fisheries Research Station at starting times listed in the table above. Volunteer anglers will deliver live muskies (and any attached lamprey) to the site between the starting and ending times as listed above. Fish will be held on site until lab personnel from MSU arrive and obtain tissue samples.

In addition to samples collected for bacterial analysis, the following biological data will be collected from all muskies sacrificed.

• Length, weight, sex, scale sample, cleithra, presence/absence external marks, scan for PIT tag, take digital pictures
• Stomach contents for diet quantification
• Fin clip for genetic material
• Muscle tissue for contaminant analysis