On October 27th, 2023 the Milwaukee Chapter of Muskies Inc chapter 35 along with the Quad County Hawg Hunters Muskies Inc Chapter 17 set out with a mission to stock 600 muskies into Pewaukee Lake located in Pewaukee Wisconsin. 

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  Bob Petzke Regional Vice President of Chapter 35 reached out to our club president on Daune Landmire asking if we would like to take part in stocking Leech Lake strain muskies into Pewaukee lake. With this being the 35th anniversary of the Milwaukee Chapter and the Quad County Hawg Hunters chapter challenge we wanted to of course do something to commemorate the event. We put it to a vote, this was not an easy decision for a smaller club to make. Just kidding, the vote was unanimous and we decided to purchase and stock Leech Lake muskies into Pewaukee Lake. The Quad County Hawg Hunters donated $1,300 to the cause totaling 70 fish stocked by Chapter 17.

  

  Between The Quad County Hawg Hunters and The Milwaukee Chapter we were able to stock 600 Leech Lake strain muskies into Pewaukee Lake. The plan was simple siix members from the Quad County Rick, Carl, Dana, Eric, Jacob and Jack made the trip north to Pewaukee Lake to meet up with the Milwaukee Chapter to fin clip and release the muskie fingerlings into the lake. The Milwaukee Chapter reached out to Muskies Inc and received a grant to help purchase the fish to be stocked into the lake, as a result the muskies stocked will be part of a growth study. To track the fish, club members clipped the right rear fin on the muskies, as the fish grows this fin will remain stunted thus identifying the year class of the fish as they are caught in the future. 

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  Around 2 pm after a slight delay of the truck arriving and a few hungry fishermen grabbing some lunch, the fish were loaded by dip net and run to the 6 eager boats waiting to transport the fingerlings to their new home. Each boat was loaded with between 75 and 100 muskies; some took a few more because they were over achievers and were driven to the west end and released into the weed beds that cover the lake. The rain and wind held off long enough for us to release all 600 fish into the lake. With winds picking up and the rain starting to roll in, we all started back to the ramp to load up and head for home. With the usual conversations of fish stories, discussing which fingerlings we released would be future 50s, and swapping out some wet clothes for dry clothes. We all loaded up to return home. 

 

We would like to extend a special thank you to the Milwaukee Chapter of Muskies Inc for letting us take part and supporting the stocking of a great fishery. We would also like to extend a special thanks to Muskies Inc for their support in everything they do and for supporting their chapters in everything they do.