Quote:
Originally Posted by catfishonthelake
This is exactly right. Pike, muskies and walleye all go through spawning motions, they do everywhere. That's why we see walleye and pike stacked in creeks at the end of March and muskies with spawning scars in April and May. Reason for the closures is so that fish can be netted for milking. I guess rather than just close certain lakes it's easier to make it statewide. The issue isn't with the spawning it's viable eggs. Muskies lay their eggs on sand, rock or pebble rock bottoms in their natural range. Not sure about pike and walleye, they're lame. Lol. New Jersey has virtually all muck bottoms. Unlike bass and sunfish that make beds and panfish who lay eggs on the weeds, muskies lay their eggs right on the bottom. In their naturally range they'd be unmolested, but here in NJ they get covered and smothered. Carp almost always invade the shallow warmer spawning grounds, but it doesn't make too much of a difference, the eggs wouldn't hatch anyway. I'm not a scientist and not sure about nature finding a way, but from what I figure the muskies think they're reproducing, but their eggs just aren't hatching.
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All species go through the spawning motions, even those that can't access the proper habitat for spawning. Just a matter of viability. Pike spawn when the water reaches the 40's, and they spawn in shallow areas of vegetation. Which is common habitat in many NJ waterways. So I'm certainly skeptical when people claim there is no natural reproduction in NJ pike. Especially since pike do spawn in very similar habitats elsewhere. And again, there is reservoir closed to fishing that supports a very healthy population of northern pike. Wouldnt be surprised if there was some successful musky reproduction in the Delaware, though.
Lame, huh? Typical response from an elitist musky fisherman lol.
