Ray Thompson , who heads the Illini Muskies Alliance, just sent his article on the Illinois Voluntary Muskie Creel Survey, supplemented by additional data provided by the Muskies, Inc. members-only contest.
This is always a fascinating document, the sort for which I wish we had for other fisheries in the state.
Thompson said ``the MI data provided information on 919 muskies from 30" to 50.5" in 2009. After sorting duplicate entries, a total of 1,261 (the most ever) muskies were used as the data base for the annual report.''
Here's some of the key facts:
The report lists 31 bodies of water reporting muskie captures in 2009, as compared to 29 in 2008. Of those, 26 of the bodies of water produced 36" or larger muskies, 21 produced 42" or larger muskies, 12 produced 45" or larger muskies, 4 produced 48" or larger muskies and 2 produced 50" or larger muskies.
Here is the piece sent by Thompson: CS Summary-09
To obtain a free copy of the 22-page, complete study, write:
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
One Natural Resources Way
Springfield, IL 62702-1271
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