Muskie as Invasive Species in NB

Asian carp are a completely different story and thier invasion is a completely different story/problem. They are not much for a sport fish, dangerous to humans because of thier frenzied leaps when boats are near. they also destroy habitat etc..

The only way to really improve the salmon population on the river would be the removal of the dam at mactaquac. while there is a fishway at the dam, it does not make it easy in any way for the salmon to migrate past it.

that said, yes muskie probably eat trout, but thier top menu items are suckers, gasperau, perch, and fallfish. probably bullheads and eels too. I can only assume that they are having some effect on baitfish populations.

Also consider other reasons that the trout fishery has gone downhill specifically overfishing and the introduction of Smallmouth Bass. Bass love trout just as much as any other predator and the average keeper bass is capable of eating an 8" trout.

Sturgeon are probably not eaten by muskies often or at all. Their bony plates are more like talons when they are small. they are very sharp and will cut you up if you aren't careful!

anyways, Muskie are great sportfish and a good way to attract anglers back to the St john river. They may be a top predator, but below the dam they are on the same level as striped bass.

We used to have a world class salmon fishery on the SJ, it's sad that it will likely never be that good again, but there is also potential for a world class muskie fishery in this river's future.. time will tell

Jim VE9WH said:

If you throw them in the bushes, you could do it all day and not get your limit, the limit is a bag and possession limit, and that includes the ones in your freezer (they are still in your possession).

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the "bag" is the amount of fish you harvest in a day. and throwing muskies into the bushes will do nobody any good (except for the raccons). We have to aknowledge that in the saint john river salmon numbers will never be what they were. however we currently have a potential world class fishery for Muskie. This would mean the SJR valley can benefit from this financially through guide services etc.
Studies show that muskies around here arent too fond of trout or salmon, they are not easy prey for them to catch. Suckers, chub and perch on the other hand are slower and easier to catch for them. I have read that Pike and Muskie tend to key in on whatever forage is most abundant too.

maybe i'm a little biased becasue i spend so much time trying to catch muskies, but I have learned to appreciate every fish i catch and treat every one of them with respect. if it's an eel, trout, salmon bass or pickerel, i think it would be a waste to kill any of them needlessly. I've seen people of all ages that throw everything they catch that isnt a trout in the woods just because they didnt want to catch THAT fish! I also met an older gentleman who was throwing everything he caught into the tall grass just because he always does it, including a sturgeon. I spent 20 minutes with the fish and it finally swam away!

IF it's not going into the frying pan or BBQ it goes back into the water, my father taught me that when i was 5.