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November / December 2012.....MUSKIE 1www.muskiesinc.org

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ContentsMUSKIE •  Vol. 46, No. 6

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MUSKIE magazine is published six times each year and is the Official Publication of Muskies, Inc.Ellen Wells, Administrative Secretary, 1509 Stahl Road, Sheboygan, WI 53081. Ph: 1-888-710-8286.© Copyright 2012 by Muskies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Departments 2 President’s Message, Jay Zahn 3 About the Cover, Juris Ozols 3 Index of Advertisers 4 Lunge Log, Jim Bunch 10 MUSKIE News 13 Figure 8, Kevin Richards 16 Photo Contest, 28 Member Photos Brad Waldera 29 Chapter News and Views

Features 14 Why You Should Be Concerned About Invasive Crayfish, Bob DiStefano

17 Wisconsin Wildlife Federation’s Youth Educator of the Year for 2012, Roy C. Kalmerton

18 Gil Hamm Chapter Challunge 2012 [Photo Collage]

20 Boatload of Freedom, Jerry Bucholtz

23 You Don’t Want to Get Rusty!, Kevin Richards

26 Muskie Christmas & Holiday Gift Ideas, Kevin Richards

14 MUSKIE.....November / December 2012

Most of us can agree that the thought of being invaded by anything is probably cause for concern. Yet, many anglers are unaware or seem unconcerned about an ongoing inva-

sion that threatens the quality of the aquatic resources that we love. Invasive species are now considered to be the second most important problem facing biologists who manage U.S. and Canadian aquatic ecosystems, right below habitat loss. Aquatic invaders have become the threat that promises to keep many fisheries managers awake at night. It’s easy for knowledgeable anglers to understand the dangers posed to our fisheries by foreign invaders such as zebra mussels, Asian carp, and Eurasian watermilfoil. It’s harder for us to get our minds around the idea that crayfish, a key component of many fisheries, are also invading and threatening our waterways. But it’s happening, it’s a serious problem, and forward-thinking anglers should be concerned about this threat.

Crayfish (also known as “crawfish” and “crawdads”) are a major prey for many North American sport fish. Research studies in various states and provinces show what many anglers already know – crayfish provide fuel for catfishes, perch, pike, trout and walleye, and they can compose more than 50% of the diets of popular species such as small-mouth bass, rock bass and adult largemouth bass. And yes, we know that Muskie will also use this tremendous food source.

However, few people are aware that crayfish play other critical ecological roles in our lakes and rivers. Crayfish feed more than 200 wildlife species that live in and around our waterways. Their omniv-orous diets (they eat nearly everything) and intense predation allow them to partially control the composition and abundance of plants and other animals (e.g., fish food such as insects and snails) in these ecosystems. Their constant work transforming dead and decaying plant material (e.g., leaves) into food for other animals drives food chains and nutrient cycles. They can affect water clarity when over-abundant. In short, crayfish play an unusually pivotal or “keystone”

ecological role in many fisheries due to their ability to alter food chains and their environment.

So how does an organism with so many beneficial traits become a problem? First, understand that while we mostly hear about a few crayfish species such as the infamous and highly invasive Rusty Crayfish, there are actually more than 400 crayfish species in North America. Many have fairly small native ranges where, over many thousands of years, they have established a balance with the plants and other animals in their environment. But when a crayfish species is moved out of its native range to unfamiliar lakes and rivers, we can’t predict how it will interact with its new environment. For example, the Rusty Crayfish is native to parts of only four U.S. states (Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and a very small part of Michigan), but since being moved to new places the results have been largely chaotic. Crayfish are generally hardy and adaptable to a wide variety of conditions. Many are aggressive, territorial, and have high reproductive potential. These traits combined with their omnivorous and intense feeding habits make them the perfect invader, suited to overpopulate, out-compete native crayfish and fish species for food and shelter, and alter the balance of their new homes. Though the Rusty Crayfish is cer-tainly among a proven handful of the most invasive North American crayfish, many others possess the traits and capabilities to similarly extend their range and cause problems.

States and provinces are generally not flush with research funds to study and monitor the problems caused by invasive crayfish. But a growing body of scientific evidence provides us with plenty to con-

sider. A recent survey of all state and provincial fisheries chiefs found that half of respondents had problems in their jurisdictions attributed to invasive crayfish.

Invasive crayfish cause population declines or elimina-tion of native crayfish, amphibians and reptiles. They are also linked to sport fishery declines for several possible rea-sons: 1) they alter and destroy habitat, specifically aquatic plant beds used by many important fish, including muskie, for cover, foraging, spawning, or nursery habitat for young, 2) they often overpopulate and then overgraze fish food (insects and snails) and insect food (algae), leaving less over-all food for our prized sport fish, and 3) they prey on sport fish eggs. They also carry diseases and parasites with unknown consequences. Because crayfish play such a key role in many fisheries, the effects of invasive crayfish rever-berate throughout the food chain and often alter the eco-logical functioning of the fishery.

Invasive Rusty Crayfish are linked with many of the previously described problems. Studies in several locations have demonstrated their particular habit of greatly reducing

Why You Should Be ConcernedAbout Invasive Crayfish

by Bob DiStefanoInvasive species are now considered to be the second most important problem facing biologists who manage U.S. and Canadian aquaticecosystems, right below habitat loss.

Rusty Crayfish(Photo by Jim Rathert, Mo. Dept. of Conservation)

November / December 2012...MUSKIE 15www.muskiesinc.org

invertebrate fish food organisms, reducing algae, and destroying plant beds, especially in the northern tier of Midwestern U.S. states and Ontario. They are also linked with reduced fish abundances in Michigan streams and Wisconsin lakes. A study of 57 Wisconsin lakes showed that when Rusty Crayfish abundances increased, plants and pan fish numbers decreased. This is not to say that every Rusty Crayfish introduction will have such dramatic results. Lakes and riv-ers are complicated ecosystems with many interacting influences; so it’s difficult to predict the results of invasions. But do we really want to leave the future condition of our fisheries to chance while these invasions continue?

In fact, it appears that Rusty Crayfish are expanding their range at an alarming rate. Over the past half century they have invaded at least 19 U.S. states and Ontario. They are now established as far west as Oregon, as far east as Maine, and extend from Tennessee and North Carolina, northward into Ontario. A University of Wisconsin study reported that over the past 40 years, Rusty Crayfish have increased from 7% to 36% of all scientific crayfish collections in that state, and are now the dominant crayfish species. They were observed to invade one Wisconsin lake at a rate of just under a half mile per year and have been documented invading Lake of the Woods, Ontario at a rate of about 1.5 miles per year. Expansion in an Oregon river was estimated at about 9 miles per year.

Crayfish invasions are not only bad news for anglers and our fisheries, but they can also impact local and regional economies. We all know that anglers contribute significantly to the livelihoods of motel, restaurant, tackle store, and convenience store owners and employees. In fact, U.S. anglers spent about $ 22 billion on fishing trip food, lodging, transportation and associated costs in 2011. State and provincial governments haven’t yet conducted research to mea-sure widespread economic effects of crayfish invasions. However, a recent Notre Dame University study focusing on only one Wisconsin county (Vilas) affected by Rusty Crayfish invasions provides insight. Researchers estimated economic losses directly tied to the degraded or altered fisheries in that county amounted to more than $1.5 million annually! We must also consider the amount of money that natural resource agencies are forced to spend on addressing these invasions; money that otherwise would be directed to proactively managing our natural resources. For example, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Management Program recently spent more than $100,000 to prevent one relatively small invasion of the Red Swamp Crawfish from spreading to other lakes.

So how are these invasive crayfish moving around and expanding their ranges? “Baitbucket introductions”, or live release of leftover bait by anglers, is widely considered the primary pathway for invasive crayfish in the U.S. and Canada. Other known pathways include transport by the aquaculture industry, and live releases by hobby aquarists and even school teachers. Recent surveys in several jurisdic-tions reveal that release of live fishing bait is a serious problem. A significant percentage of anglers admitted to baitbucket introductions in Ontario (8%), Wisconsin/Michigan (12%), and Missouri (40%); 69% of Maryland anglers using crayfish as bait admitted to releasing them to fishing waters.

Solutions to this problem seem obvious but are proving difficult to implement. Unfortunately, the “dirty little secret” about crayfish invasions is that after they occur, most are unmanageable; once an invasive crayfish has taken hold in a water body it is nearly impossible to eliminate. The key to managing crayfish invasions is proactive prevention of introductions. Most (but not all) states and provinces prohibit the release of live crayfish into natural waters. However, whether it’s because they are uninformed or simply don’t care, people

continue to ignore these laws. In response, many natural resource agencies and non-governmental organizations have started or increased campaigns to educate the public about invasions. In a perfect world, these educational efforts would prevent future crayfish introductions. However, social marketing research shows that many people resist behavioral change if they don’t see immediate benefits to themselves, even when long term benefits to society are clear. Natural resource agencies have learned that they must combine education efforts with some amount of regulation. Consequently states and provinces have been forced to enact various prohibitions on the imports, sales, pur-chase or use of live crayfish to protect the resources that have not yet been impacted.

The invasive crayfish problem is large, growing, and promises to cause real damage to the aquatic resources we treasure. Even if gov-ernmental agencies charged with protecting and managing our fisher-ies were fully-funded and fully-staffed, they can’t be everywhere at all times. Part of the solution to this invasion lies with we anglers. The thought of your favorite fishery being invaded should cause you as much concern as it causes me. All of us must be more willing to educate our fellow anglers, and offer vocal and written support to agencies on the front lines of this fight. v

Bob DiStefano earned his M.S. degree in Fisheries Science from Virginia Tech and has been a Resource Scientist with the Missouri Department of Conservation for 26 years. Bob has conducted research on water quality issues, walleye, smallmouth bass, rock bass, crayfish, and invasive species. Hobbies include managing his farm for wildlife, plus hunting, fishing, hiking, coaching baseball, and occasionally showing up at special events in a crayfish costume. Dr. Julian Olden, University of Washington School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, contributed his expertise on rusty crayfish invasions for this article.

November / December 2012...MUSKIE 23www.muskiesinc.org

I’ve been fishing Sabaskong Bay on Lake of the Woods since the 1981 Chapter Challunge. Even though it is about 900 miles from my home in Missouri, I have been lucky enough to average about

a week each summer on that big beautiful lake. Some years I make it back in October or November for trolling; that’s probably where I’ll be when you are reading this article.

My ObservationsFrom 2006 through 2009 I began noticing some changes. Many

of the cabbage and coontail beds I had been fishing over the previous 25 years seemed to be getting smaller. To be honest, I didn’t give the situation a lot of thought at the time as it was a fairly gradual change.

In 2009 and 2010 I fished Lake Vermilion, MN for the first time in many years. I was very surprised at the scarcity of submerged aquatic vegetation in much of the east basin; some of the Big V regulars who I talked to during the 2010 Chapter Challunge mentioned the invasion of rusty crayfish as the primary cause. Hmmm . . .

As my story unfolds, keep in mind that before I became Editor of MUSKIE I was a Fisheries Biologist for 30 years. I retired as Fisheries Field Operations Chief for the Missouri Department of Conservation. The point is, I was pretty knowledgeable about problems that can be caused by invasive species. I had witnessed the explosion of unwanted Asian carp populations throughout the Mississippi River Basin; I had seen Zebra mussels take hold in inland waters. I was somewhat famil-iar with the potential impacts of invasive crayfish, mostly because I had listened numerous times to Missouri crayfish expert Bob DiStefano; please take the time to read his article this month!

Before 2009, my perceptions of the potential impacts of invasive crayfish were fairly small scale. I thought of those impacts as associ-ated with isolated populations and small bodies of water, such as streams, creeks, and small watersheds.

I did not really think about invasive crayfish impacting the habi-tat on a big body of water like 39,000-acre Lake Vermilion. I cer-tainly didn’t comprehend the potential impacts on 1,000,000-acre Lake of the Woods. Heck, there are only 35 lakes in the whole world bigger than Lake of the Woods and that includes the Great Lakes and the Caspian Sea.

I skipped Lake of the Woods in 2010 as I had trips to Lake St. Clair, Lake Vermilion, and Green Bay. When I returned to Lake of the Woods in 2011, after a 24-month absence, I was amazed at the

changes I observed. Many of my old weedbeds weren’t smaller, they were gone!

The trend continued into 2012; I had the chance to fish Lake of the Woods in July and again in August. In July I observed the same unusual scenario in two different bays where I had caught muskies in past years. Historically thick patches of cabbage and coontail were gone. There was still some of the thin green tape grass (Vallisneria americana), but there were also small pieces of tape grass all over the surface of the two bays. The pieces were only an inch or two long. Interestingly, rusties do not appear to like the thick, curly female flower stalks of the tape grass. Some anglers refer to these stalks as “spaghetti” (see Doug Johnson’s comments).

In the back of one now-weedless cove I saw groups of crayfish, but couldn’t get a clear enough view to identify them.

Fast forward to August. My son Patrick and I were fishing another bay like the ones I saw in July. Again the thick patches of cabbage and coontail were gone and there were small pieces of tape grass on the surface. Patrick let a double 8 sink to the bottom for a second or two. When he resumed his retrieve he knew it felt different. When he lifted the lure into the boat there was a large rusty crayfish attached. It didn’t want to let go; it liked that tinsel skirt!

observations and Comments from other Muskie Anglers

I talked to several Lake of the Woods anglers last summer who, like me, were ready to blame rusty crayfish for the changes we observed. I wanted a bigger sample size. In early September I started a discussion thread on the MuskieFIRST website: http://muskie.out-doorsfirst.com/board/

In one week there were 47 comments posted under my rusty crayfish discussion topic; there were a couple of thousand hits on the site. Anglers realize the topic is relevant.

Anglers mentioned significant decreases in aquatic vegetation on Lake of the Woods, but also on Vermilion, Eagle, Leech, Pelican, and a few smaller lakes. Some also mentioned observations of high densi-ties of rusty crayfish. Here are excerpts from some of the most rele-vant comments; you’ll recognize the first three of these responders as outstanding muskie anglers.

(Continued on page 24)

Jeff YoungOn the west end of Vermilion we would trap rusties for a meal

the past couple years or so. We would set traps about 1/3 mile from one of our weedy milk run muskie spots. We would get about 100 or so rusties per night. We would only keep the rusties and throw the natives back. This year (2012) when we set the trap in the same area we noticed a big change. Only got about a dozen. Noticed that the weedy area where we set the traps had disappeared. This year we’ve noticed that our good muskie spot has gone dormant as well. No weeds left. So within the past 2 years the little buggers have made a big impact and are heading rapidly to the west.

I haven’t seen any change in the muskies at this point other than they have been displaced. My primary spot has become an after-thought and my secondary spot in the area is now my primary. The concerns for me would be loss of habitat not only for their home but possible spawning grounds as well. Fish do adapt to other structures but how long would it take for fish to adapt to those without disrup-tion in spawning? A year or two of disruption could cause a big effect on year class populations. On the positive side to rusties is that the perch and smallmouth have thrived on them. Lots of jumbos being caught. Only problem is that rusties reproduce much faster than they can be preyed upon.

All invasives cause problems with the ecology of a healthy fishery. Everything from zebra mussels to milfoil to rusty crayfish. But I do believe it’s a 50-50 problem - 50% bad for the lake and the other 50% is that it just flat-out screws with us fisherman.

One More . . .There were several other comments posted about eating rusty

crayfish. My favorite came from a person only identified by their screen name.

Most of the rusties have disappeared from my cabin lake in north-central WI. I used to trap them and eat them by the bucket full and now I can barely get six. Lookin’ for a new spot to trap hundreds or thousands, so if you are inundated with rusties and are close to the Tomahawk area let me know. I realize that this isn’t a solution, however, you might get some satisfaction out of helping a hillbilly with a meal.

And from the Biologist . . .

Tom Mosindy has been the Fisheries Biologist on Lake of the Woods since the early 1980s.

Doug JohnsonHere are some things I’ve seen on the Lake of the Woods. There

are plenty of smallies and walleye in the Lake of the Woods who love to eat crayfish, yet the rusties seem to be doing well.

I don’t quite remember the first year they (rusty crayfish) where found in the Lake of the Woods . . .

As I recall they were first found in Snake Bay just off Whitefish Bay . . . Surprisingly, from what I can tell the weeds in Whitefish haven’t been affected as much as the dark water areas of the lake . . . Around 10-12 years ago they started to show up in the Angle area, and the weed beds are slowly but surely disappearing. They seem to be slowly working their way south and east and there are areas in Miles and Sabaskong that used to have great cabbage seems to be gone. Surprisingly one bay that used to have great cabbage will be empty and a half mile away the next one will still have cabbage. However, this changes every year with more and more bays and islands missing cabbage. I’ve seen weed beds the size of football fields disappear over the course of one year. The green cabbage is the first to go and there’s very little of this left in the Angle. The red cabbage and the coontail are the last to go as their stems are larger and harder for the rusties to clip off. What’s left is a few patches of densely clustered red cab-bage (must be a different species than the old ones), but so dense that it would be hard for a fish to swim through it. Later in the season there is a growth of what I call spaghetti (tall stringy shots of string like weeds). These seem to show up where there used to be cabbage.

Not real sure what this will do to the fish populations on the Lake of the Woods, but I doubt that it’ll help . . . I suspect that on lakes that rely on Mother Nature to produce the fish we pursue that weed growth is quite important, and that’s why I’m worried. I’ve watched many a muskie spawn on the Lake of the Woods and it has always been in areas that would have emerging weeds about the time that the young-of-the year are born. I’m worried that without the natural nurseries that the weeds would provide (cover and food) the small fish will be food for everything that swims.

. . . However, in the last ten years since the weeds have started to disappear I still seem to see many small fish. This year (2012) I’ve prob-ably seem more 20-inch fish than I’ve ever seen, but I have no accurate records, so it may just be a personal perspective.

. . . Wish I could meet the guy who brought the rusties to the Lake of the Woods, as I’d like to have a little talk with him!

Steve Worrall (OutdoorsFIRST Media -www.outdoorsfirst.com)

Doug’s response is spot on . . . They are a destructive invasive that bass don’t control well at all. The destruction of most of the vegetation in any body of water is bad, but the added impact of a living carpet of rusties eating nearly every egg dropped during the spawn doesn’t help NR (natural recruitment). Nasty critters …

If the substrate Muskies use to spawn in is damaged or altered significantly by an invasive, NR can nearly cease and stocking is the only answer to maintain healthy populations. That wouldn’t be my choice, and I bet it sure isn’t our DNR’s.

24 MUSKIE.....November / December 2012

Many anglers might think it would be impossible for an invasive crayfish brought into a localized area on Lake of the Woods to spread throughout the massive lake. Well it happened; it took 50 years, but it happened and now we must face the consequences. Knowing this should make every conservation-mind-ed angler more determined to learn about invasive species and actively work to prevent such invasions into other habitats.

YOU DON’T WANT TO GET RUSTY(Continued from page 23)

This Rusty attacked and held on to a double 8 spinner on Lake of the Woods. Note the rusty spot on the side and the black-tipped pinchers.

Closing ThoughtsOnly time will tell how rusty crayfish will ultimately impact

habitat, food chains, and populations of muskies and other fishes in each body of water they have invaded. There is no doubt that chang-es in the density, location and types of aquatic vegetation have already impacted anglers’ fishing patterns.

Many anglers might think it would be impossible for an invasive crayfish brought into a localized area on Lake of the Woods to spread throughout the massive lake. Well it happened; it took 50 years, but it happened and now we must face the consequences. Knowing this should make every conservation-minded angler more determined to learn about invasive species and actively work to prevent such inva-sions into other habitats.

For now I remain optimistic that healthy and resilient fisheries can be maintained and the diversity of habitats and other types of cover will favor native fishes over invasive species like rusty crayfish. v

November / December 2012....MUSKIE 25www.muskiesinc.org

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He works out of the Kenora Office of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Tom says it is like managing five or six different large lakes because of the diversity of Lake of the Woods.

The invasion of rusty crayfish started about 50 years ago near Sioux Narrows; the crayfish were presumed to have been brought in by anglers who wanted to use them as bait. They occupy the same areas as native virile crayfish, but have not totally eliminated the natives.

Rusty crayfish have been present for over two decades in the Kenora area.

They have been in Sabaskong for about 10 years and in Nestor falls area for at least five years. These areas are prime habitat for the rusty. During warm-water fish population sampling on Sabaskong, using 400-foot gillnets, it can take the OMNR crew over two hours to remove all the rusty crayfish from each sample net before they can process the fish. Fisheries crews are considering other sampling meth-ods because of this problem.

A study initiated in 2006 (in cooperation with the Department of Fisheries & Oceans) indicated rusty crayfish have advanced by about 2.5 km (1.5 mi) per year in Ptarmigan Bay (NW portion of Lake of the Woods) and are advancing toward Shoal Lake. Non-native papershell crayfish have also been found in Ptarmigan Bay.

Rusty crayfish were found in 2006 in the NW Angle on the MN side of the lake and are expected to advance all the way to the mouth of the Rainy River.

Tom has received numerous comments from anglers, but notes that it is difficult to prove long-term impacts upon vegetation which can be specifically tied to the crayfish. Other factors can impact the density of rooted aquatic plants like cabbage and coontail, such as water level fluctuations and heavy summer blooms of blue-green algae (especially in Sabaskong, Stevens and Stony). It is believed that rusty crayfish won’t switch to vegetation until higher protein food sources (insects, invertebrates, and small fish) become limited.

“Once any invasive species is here there is very little we can do to eliminate them. We just have to hope we have a healthy and resilient existing fishery which can be maintained . . .”

The key is education about the negative impacts of invasive species. In the Lake of the Woods basin there are currently 8 invasive spe-cies Tom is watching. They include rusty cray-fish, rainbow smelt, and spiny water fleas.

Tom Mosindy mentioned there has been a gradual increase in muskies in the mid fifty-inch range since the establishment of the 54-inch size limit. It will be a long process as these large fish live 20 years or more.

He confirmed that muskies use dense mats of early season aquatic vegetation to spawn. If the rusty crayfish reduce such vegetation it will reduce spawning habitat, and cause more spawn-ing and post-spawning competition between muskies and pike.

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