SPICER — There’s a big one lurking in the waters of Green Lake , waiting to surprise an angler.
Spicer area fisheries staff with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources netted a muskellunge this spring in Green Lake that they estimate would measure close to 50 inches in length. They had no measuring device along, and released the big fish after snapping a quick photo.
The muskie was an incidental catch in nets that were set to assess the walleye population.
There is not a known muskie population in Green Lake. This fish likely made its way to Green Lake from the upstream waters of Nest Lake, where some muskie are found.
A 2021 creel survey conducted on Nest Lake from May through October estimated 23 muskie were caught, according to Dave Coahran, fisheries supervisor in Spicer. To put it in perspective, the survey estimated 1,788 northern pike were caught during the same period.
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The Nest Lake muskie are believed to be escapees from the fish hatchery ponds, or possibly even the offspring of some.
An angler caught a 42-inch muskie in the Nest Lake Bay along Minnesota Highway 23 in 2018.
The DNR stocks some lakes in the state to offer muskie fishing opportunities where it is not otherwise available, but that is not being offered in Kandiyohi County at this time.
The muskie season opens June 3, but the Green Lake muskellunge is a catch-and-release opportunity only. State regulations allow anglers to keep one trophy muskie. It must be a minimum of 54 inches in length.
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