The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is continuing to stock the state's waterways with muskellunge to boost sport fishing opportunities.
The DNR says it recently released 25,740 muskellunge fingerlings into 12 water bodies. Michigan is home to two strains of naturally reproducing muskellunge - Great Lakes and northern.
The hatching program focused initially on the northern strain but more recently has shifted to Great Lakes muskies, which are native to the state and widely distributed.
Since 2011, the DNR has collected eggs and sperm from adult muskellunge in the Lake St. Clair-Detroit River system. Offspring are reared at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery in Mattawan.
Officials say improvements at Wolf Lake have enabled staffers to boost the size of fingerlings over the years, which means better survival rates.
