10/28/2026
Check out this good-news Hump Day update, direct from Musky Insider...
Nearly 9,000 Reasons to Smile
Remember that Wisconsin musky stocking story we shared this spring? The one with “70% cut” in the headline that probably made you wanna throw your phone? 😬
Well… we’ve got some much better news.
First, a quick update on that earlier chapter. Following approval of supplemental funding, Outdoor News reported in August that the Wisconsin DNR expected to meet roughly 98% of its original 2026 musky stocking quota.
That’s a pretty big turnaround.
But another encouraging story was takin’ shape, too…
Four musky clubs, a tribal hatchery and the DNR teamed up to put 8,963 muskies into Wisconsin waters this October.
Their original goal? About 3,000.
Apparently, somebody forgot to tell the muskies. 👀
A different way to get more fish in the water
According to Paul Smith’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report, guide Jeff Van Remortel (WFE'23 seminar host!) helped bring together funding from four groups:
✅ Vilas and Oneida County Musky Fund
✅ Boundary Waters Musky Club
✅ C & R Musky Club
✅ Headwaters Musky Club
DNR fisheries biologist Greg Matzke helped connect the effort with Mole Lake Fisheries, part of the Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
The idea was straightforward. The clubs would provide funding, the state would supply musky fry, and Mole Lake’s hatchery crew would handle raising them.
The fish would go toward unmet stocking needs in northeastern Wisconsin waters.
Mole Lake had an experienced fisheries team, but this was its first time raising muskies.
Safe to say… they figured some things out. 🔥
One pond. Nearly triple the goal.
After starting the fish indoors, the hatchery crew moved 10,000 fingerlings into an outdoor rearing pond.
When harvest time rolled around, that pond delivered 8,963 muskies averaging 11.5 inches, which crews stocked on October 13–14.
Production was high enough to fill the identified inland stocking needs and still send 2,611 of those fish to the Peshtigo and Oconto rivers.
The Vilas and Oneida County Musky Fund calls it the largest private, non-DNR musky stocking event in Wisconsin history. And while the clubs supplied the funding, state and tribal fisheries crews were central to makin’ it happen.
That’s a whole lot of new baby ‘skies swimmin’ around because people worked together.
Already plannin’ the next round
This year’s fish were Great Lakes-strain muskies, so stocking was limited to waters within the Lake Michigan drainage.
For 2027, the partners plan to raise Upper Wisconsin River-strain muskies, opening the door to Oneida County lakes and other waters in the Wisconsin River drainage.
The long-term plan is to alternate strains and drainage areas each year.
More work ahead, for sure. But nearly tripling the first year’s goal is a pretty dang good way to get things rollin’.
Huge thanks to the clubs, Mole Lake hatchery team, JVR, DNR staff, volunteers and donors who made it happen. 👏
Want to help keep it rollin’? Learn more about the project and how to support future Wisconsin stockings at WisconsinMuskyStocking.com.
