Greg Seubert

Hwy. 10 divides Wisconsin into a southern and northern muskie zone. In the past, the Northern Zone opened the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. Starting this year, with a rule change, the muskie season opens the same day statewide, the first Saturday in May – May 2 this year.
“Anytime we can simplify regulations, that’s a positive,” said Jordan Weeks, of the DNR’s muskie team. “Making things easier for folks is something we’re interested in. We’re not going to make something simple just to make it simple. It has to make sense biologically, as well, and this really does.”

The Wild Rose Fish Hatchery has been restoring and enhancing Wisconsin fisheries for more than a century.
Trout, salmon, sturgeon, and walleyes are all raised at the Wild Rose Fish Hatchery before being stocked in the state’s inland lakes, rivers and streams, as well as Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. The spotted muskie is on that list, as well.

If there’s a species that deserves an award as Comeback Fish of the Great Lakes, the spotted muskie has to be considered a contender.
Green Bay has emerged in recent years as a trophy destination for the Great Lakes spotted muskie. The Wisconsin DNR spent three days at the Wild Rose Fish Hatchery in late October capturing spotted muskie fingerlings, loading them on trucks and stocking them in Green Bay, several of its tributaries and a few inland lakes in the Lake Michigan watershed.