MUSKIES---Believe it or Not

I’ve heard stories, seen pictures and I’ve even seen the dusty stuffed trophies mounted on the wall. But then again I’ve heard stories about Big Foot, seen pictures of UFOs and when I was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, I saw a stuffed and mounted Jackalope hanging on a restaurant wall. Bottomline? I’m not 100% convinced that muskies really exist.

Fishing was one of the original draws to the Thousand Islands. Muskellunges—or muskies as they are commonly referred to--are the king of the fresh water sport fish. And the St. Lawrence River seems to produce whoppers.

It was fishing that drew Gary’s great Uncle Otis from his home in Rochester to the Thousand Islands. For years he stayed at Hub House where it was advertised you could “fish from your room.” Eventually, Otis bought the point of land on Grenell directly across from Hub Island so he could fish to his heart’s content. It’s not much of a stretch to say that the only reason our family is on Grenell today is because of muskies.

There are plenty of newspaper clippings about Uncle Otis’ catches, but there are no stuffed muskies. The cottage was far too small for such a big trophy fish, or so I’m told. Otis supposedly donated his stuffed muskies to various hotels and restaurants in the area. All were torn down decades ago. So I’m left wondering if such muskies ever existed.

It doesn’t help that Otis’ daughter, Olivia, wrote a fish tale about catching a muskie that was eventually in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. I’ve been on the river since 1975 and I’ve never seen a muskie. I want to believe, but that “Or Not” keeps needling me.

In 2011 we entered our boat in the Alex Bay’s antique boat show. We were stern to stern with a beautiful boat called “Muskie” owned by Jeff Garnsey. Jeff’s boat had fabulous displays of muskies so appealing that he won an award for his displays. I shared my skepticism with him. At least now, I can say that I know someone “who says” he caught a muskie.

Jeff is more than just a muskie angler. He’s in charge of the Muskie Hall of Fame upstairs from the Thousand Island Museum on James Street in Clayton. He told me they have so many to display they have to rotate the collection. Did I mention I’d seen a stuffed jackalope? I know there is no such thing as a jackalope, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a jackalope museum somewhere.

Other Grenellians have chastised me for my skepticism and remind me that one of the most famous muskie fisherman of all time had Grenell roots. No, it wasn’t Uncle Otis. It was the son of George Pabst who used to own the cottage next door a hundred years ago. Howath Pabst at one time held the world record for catching the largest muskie and had a lifetime total of 1,228 muskie catches.

No wonder I’ve never seen a muskie. Howath caught them all!

By 1980, muskies were seriously overfished. Thank goodness, Save the River stepped-in and introduced a nifty catch-and-release program. Fill out a Muskellunge Release Affidavit and Save the River will send you a lovely muskie limited edition print created and signed by local artist, Michael Ringer. Started in 1987, Save the River’s catch-and-release program has given away more than a 1000 prints. Ringer has produced and donated several different editions. What a wonderful memento and far easier to dust than those wall-mounted stuffed fish.

Thanks to the catch-and-release program, anglers have a new ethic. Fewer muskies are being taken out of the river. But, it’s also true that fewer muskies are coming into the river. Muskies have lost breeding habitats in the decades since Uncle Otis stopped fishing. Dr. John Farrell, Director of the Muskellunge Research Program, leads the cooperative research effort at locating and protecting muskellunge spawning and nursery habitat and improving management to protect the species. And it’s a pretty special species. Besides being at the top of the food chain in the St. Lawrence River, Farrell says that, “The unique Great Lakes muskellunge genetic strain consistently produces some of the largest muskies caught anywhere.”

Farrell spends most of his summers at the Thousand Islands Biological Station on Governor’s Island. Farrell studies all fish but is it’s clear that muskies are a special breed of fish:

“It’s large size, unmatched aesthetic appearance, and secretive nature make the muskellunge one of the most revered and sought after freshwater game fish. Its value goes well beyond the fishery and into the historical and present appeal of maritime communities of the River.”

In 2005, muskies took another hit from VHS. No not the video tape. VHS stands for Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia. Biologists estimate that the St. Lawrence River lost half of its muskie population to VHS. But the worst is over and the muskie population seems to be on the rebound.

Perhaps with all these efforts—the catch and release program, the restoration of breeding habitat, and the tireless efforts of Dr. Farrell and his Ontario counterpart , John M. Casselman, of the Glenora Fisheries Station—I might actually see a muskie some day.

What can YOU do to help the odds of me seeing a muskie some day?

1. If you are an angler, it’s simple. Catch and release! But there’s a right way and wrong way to do that. Find out more at: Catch and Release guide: http://www.savetheriver.org/docs/Current_Muskie_brochure_07.pdf
2. If you live along the shores of the St. Lawrence, make sure you are doing all you can to insure a good habitat. Check here for the Fish Fact Sheet
3. Want to understand why the muskie is the history of the area? Go to the Muskie Hall of Fame and find out! Thousand Islands Museum, Clayton.
4. Support Save the River. They are helping protect the river for you AND the muskies …….if they really do exist!

By Lynn E. McElfresh, Grenell Island

Lynn McElfresh presents two articles this month.  This is the third of several articles she will present this winter in partnership with Save the River. Click here To see all of Lynn’s contributions to TI Life.

More on Muskies:  Chasing the World Record Muskie… by Rich Clark – January, 2012;  The MacNair Forty-Acre Muskie, by Susan W. Smith – February 2009;  Pisces Redux: Muskies, by Paul Malo – January, 2008

Editor's Note:  A link to this video was sent to us after this article was published It refers to the reference above "The MacNair Forty-Acre Muskie" article. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgZRFRxQk04&feature=endscreen&NR=1.  Enjoy!