Hey guys
I fished wixom today with my father, we hit a bunch of canals and were just typical dock fishing for bass, we were doing good, the ol' berkely gulp was gettin the fish to go, but in my fav canal on wixom, i was flipping a 6" natural color sinking minnow under the back of a pontoon and and got a mild strike, set the hook and not a whole lot of a fight came right in, it was a 15.5" muskie, markings were visable, fish was healthy and no it was not a pike.
It was released good, took right off. Does this corralate with stockings? Or was this fish possibly from natural reproduction?
I have to say it was the last thing I was expecting to catch tossing for bass..lol
Bryan
I'm going to hold my tongue but I'm with Bomba. I'd say it was one of the baby ski's from Sanford going up stream over the dam into Wixom like a salmon but then I remember, we haven't received any real numbers of fish in Sanford for quite some time. Maybe an Eagle dropped it in Wixom on it's way over from Budd? Seriously Brian, from what Don Barnard of the DNR tells me, natural reproduction is possible but not very likely on the Titt chain lakes. What that fish likely is (at least in my opinion) is a small fish that survived some of the fry plants that the DNR does on Wixom and Sanford in the spring of the year from the pond west of Sanford that Don runs. That fish is likely one from 2 springs ago. However, Pete Lebarron is likely the best person to wager a guess where the little guy came from.
Hard to say- could be a 2.5 year old pygmy muskie (least likely), a 1.5 year old Ross Lake planter that would still be on the runty side (more likely) or a natural reproduction fish as you say (equally likely or MAYBE most likely??). There certainly has been little-to-no evidence of reproduction on the impoundment chain, save for one Tiger caught from Sanford. Wixom has actually never received any spring fry/fingerling plants, so you're left with just a couple of possibilities but all not real high probabilities!! Neat though!
Take your pick…
Though one is obviously more likely than the other. After talking to a biologist from New Brunswick it seems even if they had to go through a hydro dam they survive.
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if it came from secord…isn't that quite a hike though..
i admit it is kinda a freak of nature…lol
so natural reproduction is out of the question?
plus both wixom dam's have a hell of a high wall for a fish to jump…
i did not take a pic, i just got it in, unhooked showed my dad, and it went back in, but i could tell you what canal, on east arm, i believe its the 3rd canal on right side(east).. deep canal, about 25-33ft deep steep banks, but as you go in it shallows then drops for a ways, then flatens out around 11ft and at end makes a Y with a large brown rust breakwall, go to the right along break wall and fish those pontoons, that is where i got it.
I have no clue , I just found it odd as hell…
I told Pete and Ron this story:
about a year and a half ago a guy and his wife cam into my store looking at beds and such. We were shooting the breeze, the older fella and myself, and as we were talking about fishing, he was telling me he lives on sanford lake, north though, past varity cove. He was telling me about fish caught through the years, and was showing pics he actually had in his wallet. He showed me a picture of 2 sturgeon he had caught back in like winter of 84' in a span of a week. They were not huge, prolly upper 30" class of fish. But I was pretty amazed, he was on the ice, but in background you could see his house and other houses that line sanford lake rd. I didn't beat him up about ethics and the legal aspect of it, as he was very old and retired from any kind of fishing or outdoor activities, a set in his way type of old guy…not to mention, i was hoping he would buy some things..lol I have had a few other people tell me through gossip or just fish chat that other people have seen one or two in there before, but the rumored them to be big. My guess they think a sturgeon looks like a carp or catfish. But that guy from the store, had a legit picture and claim. As to how those fish got in there…well who knows. haha Maybe over dow damn and all the way up.. I know they survive in ostego lake, why not good ol' grungy sanford..lol
Boy that sturgeon story still baffles me…I know they can run up some serious current, and have been netted in the Titt river, but to make it up the spillway in high water would be something! Though it would help explain the famed "8' musky" living in Sanford…
As far as that 15.5"er goes, I would bet it is a Ross spillover or a product of natural reproduction. The 2004 fish that went into Wixom were very small by fall fingerling standards (averaged 7", but there were tons of 5"ers in there), though even the runtiest little dude should be well over 20" by now in there. Especially if it looked healthy and not deformed in some way (meekly bent-nosers and hunch-backers were prevelent in that stocking.) Sure wish we fin clipped everything upon planting like some states do!
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