Why Northern Pike are not introduced to central Illinois

Just wondering why Northern Pike are not more prevalent in central Illinois lakes such as Evergreen where nice Muskies are and Bloomington where Muskies reside but are not as numerous. My reasoning is due to them being aggressive feeders that could help relieve the stunted fish situations that arise at both lakes from time to time taking out the 1,000,001 8.75" and allowing the others to go to 12-14" range. They are also excellent excellent on the dinner table with a mess of nice crappies. Any thoughts. If they can survive in the Kankakee River don't see why they would not do good in other areas

DNR has no money.Hatcheries are understaffed. Muskies love Pike.There is a smaller State lake near me that used to be a decent pike lake untell Skis were stocked now not so good,but DNR claims there is a state record Ski swimming around in it.Do real good on them in June

City of Bloomington owns both lakes. Sticker fee for each. I agree with dnr short on money, but I'd like to see the city loosen the purse strings a little

I believe they were initially stocked in Kinkaid (not central IL), didn't do well so they switched to Muskies.

Love to see it attempted again

I think they still raise them at the Jake Wolf hatchery and I sure they net them at Spring Lake south to milk them to take to the hatchery that is next door. I think they trade them for fish from other hatcheries. I too wish they would stock them locally. I like to eat them and they fun to catch.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Banjomarsh

I think they still raise them at the Jake Wolf hatchery and I sure they net them at Spring Lake south to milk them to take to the hatchery that is next door. I think they trade them for fish from other hatcheries. I too wish they would stock them locally. I like to eat them and they fun to catch.

---

Northerns do best in a cold water environment. They can and do overpopulate if the conditions are right for them. About 40 years ago he Wisconsin DNR 'accidentally' dumped a couple truckloads of the into the Chippewa Flowage, where they had never been. Within 5 years they had almost completely wiped out every musky fingerling in the Flowage (they spawn earlier) and almost destroyed the once thriving black crappie population. Trust me when I say that you DON'T want northerns stocked in Illinois! Once they get big they are fun to catch and good to eat, but the damage they do while GETTING big is pretty tough to accept...

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

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

Quote:

---

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.

Interesting

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

There is little danger in them taking over any lake in central Illinois as they do not reproduce naturally. ( I think they need running water.) They have been putting them in Spring lake south(Manito) for many years and I don't think have ever been a problem. They stocked them in Banner Marsh(My "home" water) from the beginning (1980). The bass fishers would catch one occasionally as would I with the exception of one day in June of 2003 when I caught 8 of them 6# to 9#. But that day, everything was going crazy, the best day of fishing I ever had, big bass, big crappie and even 2 6# walleyes plus the N. Pike. They quit stocking them and I haven't caught one since.

Did not know they do not reproduce

Quote:

---

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

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jnebgud

City of Bloomington owns both lakes. Sticker fee for each. I agree with dnr short on money, but I'd like to see the city loosen the purse strings a little

---

I always thought the McLean County Dept. of P.& R. owned Evergreen Lake.

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.

Pike are making a good of it in the Kankakee River, evergreen and Bloomington not that far away