Muskie hunting has arrived. Muskies are now stocked into 36 lakes in Illinois, depending on the availability of fingerling muskies each season; new waters are added when the opportunity arises. The statewide 36-inch minimum length limit, in combination with special regulation waters, is providing an excellent put-and-take fishery for muskellunge anglers.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR) began stocking muskies in the 1970s and the rest is history. Spring Lake (North) received the first fish and the program was soon expanded to include other waters that were capable of sustaining these toothy predators. Bass anglers understandably put up a few roadblocks early on, but the protest was soon quelled by muskie diet studies that showed little predation on black bass.

New muskie waters have been added within the last few years. These are the newcomers to this fishing scene and are certainly worth keeping an eye on. They include Busse Lake in the Cook County Forestry District, Fulton County Recreation Area lakes No. 3 and No. 4, and Mallard Lake in DuPage County. State money is tight right now, so there aren't any plans in the works to add new lakes to the list.

According to Joe Ferencak, the Division of Fisheries' Impoundment program manager, most lakes can support an adult muskie population of one adult for every five surface acres of water. This density is what biologists like to see. Fingerling muskies are distributed based on how fast they grow in a given lake and on how many are available from the hatchery in a given year. In recent years, the survival rates of hatchery-raised muskies have increased and there has been a more predictable number of fish for stocking.

A surprising number of stocked lakes are less than 100 acres, but the size doesn't really matter. A small lake won't have nearly the number of adult muskellunge as a larger lake because of carrying capacity limitations, but on a per-acre basis, smaller lakes hold their own.

One of the key components in the muskie program is the anglers, according to Ferencak. The catch-and-release rates are right up around 99 percent. Muskie clubs have been an exceptional resource for the DNR, and for the last 20 years have assisted with creel surveys, have purchased much-needed equipment, and have paid for fingerling muskies.

Local fisheries biologists are on the front line of the DNR's muskie management program as well. If a biologist thinks that one of his lakes is a good candidate for a stocking, an impact study is coordinated with creel and population density studies to determine if it would be successful. If the answer is yes, a recommendation is made to the Division of Fisheries. The project moves forward, depending on the cost and availability of fish. If all goes as planned, a new muskie lake is born.

Conservation is the name of the game with these fish. Muskie stockings only work if anglers keep the fish alive and well. Though doing the right thing to preserve the state's muskie fishery comes natural for most anglers, catch-and-release does have a drawback, according to muskie guide Al Nutty.