yeah- we discussed it in the last tiger muskie thread- the lake association at Woodridge purchases the muskies and stocks them- so it really has nothing to do with the state or DEP - although the DEP should be encouraged by their success, do a little studying and hopefully implement a muskie plan at a public lake like Lillinonah or Zoar - I think muskies would really take there- the pike seem to be pretty healthy there- plenty of acreage, structure, forage, depth, spawning habitat, etc - and with the pollution in the whole housatonic system- a muskie is more of a Catch and Release game fish anyway- sure seems like a perfect fit to me (did I mention I am slightly biased? )

Those are remarkable looking fish. Awesome.

I may have missed it, but do you let the muskie go?

Ole Glory - We were actually on the northwestern portion of the lake, close to the shore. We entered by the east beach access and walked all the way to the western access which we had no idea was there. We did have a quad to bring us back. Is it good fishing by the damn?

One thing you guys might like to know, the state of New York stocks these things everywhere. Nearby to me, there is the Seneca river, Oneida Lake, Jamesville Reservoir, Panther Lake, Otisco (where all mine have come from) and many more all have been stocked with these guys. There's even a small pond near me in the center of Syracuse that kicked out a 40" fish last summer (I saw it rise earlier in the season, apparantly its the only one in there). They seem to me to be a great fish to stock, sterile, clip down panfish, and gorw big and fight hard. I had a tiger in the 40" range roll on my jerkbait last spring fishing for smallies up here.

A few lakes have had stocking discontinued due to concern of local anglers. Panfishing around here is quite popular, and many don't like the ideas of these predators in the lake.

These guys don't seem to get larger than northerns do. I average 28-30" per northern at Bantam Lake, and my biggest tiger thus far has been 24". Doesn't mean I don't love every one.

I can think of a few lakes where tigers would prosper, mainly being ones loaded with panfish or other forage. Bantam is one (how would that be for a mixed fishery?), another would be Tyler, which is loaded with small perch (like Otisco). I do think it all comes down to money, those fish aren't cheap.