Thread: Why Northern Pike are not introduced to central Illinois

Originally Posted by clfarms1

I believe they tried them in Lake Shelbyville and it didn't work out as Musky hasn't worked as well as they hoped.

If I remember correctly, there were some HUGE northerns reported by the IDNR in Kinkaid back in the 60s. The DNR figured muskies would do well there so they stocked them too. They seem to be doing good, even with a little reproduction and VERY hot water. How the northerns got in originally, I don't know. You never hear of any northerns being caught in Kinkaid today.

Great information.. thank you for the responses

Here is an interesting musky story. Last year a kayak angler here in SC caught a decent size musky in the Broad River here in the state. He was fishing with a DNR employee who thought it was a musky so the had it verified by the DNR biologist here. That river has a good smallmouth population, but the musky was a surprise. They were stocked in Lake Lure NC many years ago and some still are in the lake, but no one was sure how this one got in the Broad River and found its way into SC

Interesting

Here is a fishing survey for Kinkaid http://www.ifishillinois.org/ssr/00253.pdf

Did not know they do not reproduce

Originally Posted by jnebgud

Did not know they do not reproduce

They naturally TRY to reproduce, but you need a healthy population of breeding stock for it to succeed. Also, if water conditions are not perfect due to temperature fluctuations, predation by other fish and lack of weed growth which baby northerns use for concealment, natural spawning is rarely successful. Also, I believe most stocked northerns lack the ability to reproduce because they are hybrids.

Northern aren't hybrid

Always was told the city owned it

You are right. I thought the county owned it when I saw county employees there all the time, including taking the daily use fee. I copyed this from the Lake website. ---->

Location: Evergreen Lake is located approximately 15 miles North of Bloomington, Illinois and is easily accessible by taking I-39 North to the Lake Bloomington/Evergreen Lake Exit, then proceeding west on the Lake Bloomington Road (2500N).

Description: Evergreen Lake was built in 1970 to serve as a secondary water source for the City of Bloomington. The lake is owned by the City of Bloomington and is managed by the McLean County Department of Parks and Recreation. Evergreen Lake is part of Comlara County Park. The lake is 925 acres and has an average depth of 19.7 feet and a maximum depth of 50 feet. There are 2 boat launches on the lake and one canoe launch. Comlara County Park offers 137 campsites, a swimming beach, and showers. The Friends of Everbloom is an organization that assists with habitat projects and improving the quality of Evergreen Lake. To learn more about their organization, visit their web page Friends of EverBloom - Home.