West Virginia Wildlife from Eyewitness News

Musky Spawn

WV DNR biologists go to great lengths for the state's musky population.

April 29, 2009
Reporter: Patrick McMurtry
Videographer: Brad Rice

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This was a cold, nasty April day, but the Musky run on the Hughes River was hot!

"That's probably 30 pounds, over 40 inches!"

And that was exactly what we were looking for-ripe females we could temporarily pull out of the river and take to the hatchery so we can harvest eggs.

Scott Morrisson/DNR Biologist says:
"We're using this lake as our brood stock, that's one reason North Bend Lake has a 40 inch size limit. We have found that older fish are not in their prime and they don't produce good eggs like fish in their prime which are generally fish that are 4 to 7 years old."

We had no problem finding plenty of big musky, and since this is spawning season, Scott is hopeful we can get plenty of eggs on this trip.

That's just what we're looking for

"We've got more fish than this boat can handle."

Once we get back to the hatchery, it's time to collect the eggs.

"You're just pressing on the stomach? Any type of pressure.

We'll get a lot of eggs out of here, maybe 20 ounces. And this is the only one of the females that is ripe? Yes."

This has to be quick work and you only get one shot at collecting as many eggs as possible.

Scott Morrisson/DNR Biologist says:
"We probably won't get half the eggs out of this female, she won't produce any more. By tomorrow these eggs won't be any good."

The clock is ticking now and we still had to collect the sperm from the males.

"This sperm will only be mobile for a couple of minutes."

Once it's in, we have to be very careful because the slightest movement can cause the eggs to burst.

These guys are so good, though, that about 80 percent of these eggs will become small fry and eventually fighting musky you'll try to catch in the rivers and lakes across the state.