Courtesy Photo A youth fisherman holds a muskie in this courtesy photo from the Michigan DNR.

ALPENA — The Michigan Department of Natural Resources started its 9th annual muskellunge anger survey on June 1 leading to good results so far, officials say.

The survey is meant to gather different demographics about the anglers and fish – also commonly called a muskie — asking questions regarding the fish’s length, where it was found, the methods used to catch it, and other aspects.

Fisheries managers use this data to recommend fishing regulation changes to the Michigan Natural Resources Commission and to analyze the population and stocking program for these fish.

The Great Lakes are home to two different types of muskie — the Great Lakes muskellunge and the northern muskellunge.

Cory Kovacs, a fisheries biologist in the DNR’s Eastern Lake Superior Unit, said that the surveys began in 2014.

“It really started off with postcards and later it went to an online format in 2016,” Kovacs said. “We’re really looking for any data from anglers who have interacted with muskies. If you get a muskie on a bass trip, let the DNR know about it.”

The 2023 Michigan Fishing Guide says the minimum length to catch and keep a muskellunge is 42 inches and only one fish per angler license in a survey.

Kovacs and Neal Godby, a DNR fisheries biologist in Gaylord, said Lake Besser, Lake Winyah, Otsego Lake, Cheboygan River watershed, and the Inland Waterway — a nearly 40-mile chain of rivers and lakes in Northern Michigan that includes the Cheboygan River, the Indian River, and Burt Lake — are good places for anglers to find muskellunge around northern Michigan.

While Lake Besser was mentioned by both biologists, the DNR Muskellunge Angler Surveys for 2014 to 2022 show that no muskellunge were reported to have been caught in the lake in 2022.

“(2023) has been a good survey year so far,” Kovacs said. “Right now, we have about 150 to 200 surveys and we’ve been averaging to about 500 per year.”

Kovacs said some of the best catches that he’s seen from the survey were caught in the fall. His recommendation was “the worse the temperature and overall the weather is, the better.”

According to the DNR, muskellunge are one of the largest game species to catch, with lengths as long as over 50 inches.

The muskellunge survey goes on through the whole year and an ideal goal for Kovacs is to get 1,000 responses. By the 2024 survey, the DNR biologists are looking forward to seeing 10 years worth of trends and data through the surveys.

To report any muskellunge catches, anglers can call the DNR’s survey number at 888-636-7778, visit the Michigan government website: Michigan.gov/RegisterFish, or by going on the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app on their smartphones.