Huge Muskie in Burke Lake

[swampfox]

:bigfish: Was talking with another fisherman yesterday, he had seen a muskie trying to swallow a nine pound (more or less) catfish in Burke Lake! Now that's big!
Bill

Some additional info regarding Burke Lake from VDGIF: Lake Burke - Fishing Opportunities (http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=26&section=fishing). They also stocked 20,000 walleye fry yesterday, 5/21.

[gordy]

Hooked into a couple monsters years ago when I lived up there. Never landed one though.

[Salmo trutta]

I've always heard Burke Lake was a good spot for Muskie. Are these tiger muskies or true strain muskies? Does the inland fisheries still manage and stock Muskie fingerlings every year in the lake?

Maryland stopped all tiger Muskie stockings in all of their lakes because of the threat of VHS disease as they previously had received their muskies from Pa., but Pa may have this VHS disease common in the great lakes.

Just recently Maryland DNR has started taking eggs from true strain muskellunge from the Potomac to grow and stock fingerling musky in other areas of the Potomac not populated with the true strain Muskie. But our Muskie lake fishery is doomed. So I hope Va is still doing something.

[jrhjr]

Years ago Hydrilla (an invasive water plant, sometimes used in aquariums) got introduced into Burke lake and the nearby tidal Potomac just below DC. The stuff went wild! Everyone panicked! How are we going to control this stuff!? Mechanical harvesting couldn't keep up. In Burke Lake they introduced Chinese Grass Carp (they will eat almost any weed, are always hungry and grow to 75#). A year later no great results. Another year later the problem seemed worse, not better, and hey; "What happened to all of the Grass Carp?"
They electro-fished the lake to find out what was going on. No Grass Carp but, lots of big fat Muskies!
PS The Potomac's Hydrilla "problem" has stabilized and provided an oxygenating, filtering and brood habitat source where all of the native grass and weads had been wiped out by pollution and siltation. The Tidal Potomac is now one of the premier Bass fishing locations in the country!

[Dashaway]

Sounds like that Andy of Mayberry episode where everyone was after the big bass.... they finally caught him, felt guilty and set him free. Life was so good in Mayberry, wish I was still there.

[Salmo trutta]

That hydrilla is a major problem in the lakes. Up here in MD we have a lake called Black Hills, aka Little Seneca Lake. It too used to have a pretty good muskie fishery. It might still be decent but they have stopped stocking fingerling muskies in there for now. But it has a major problem with hydrilla. So much so that it is very difficult fishing it in the summer. The stuff can be several feet thick making shore line fishing almost impossible in the summer. All the good shore line structure gets covered up with this stuff out till about 12 feet or so.

That is why right now is the best time to fish these lakes with this stuff. The weeds have not grown in yet and you can really get a look see at the structure and the fish. Probably the same situation in Burke Lake.

[aaument]

According to the BL website,

"Great Fishing Right here in Fairfax County! "Phenonmenal." That's how the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries describes the Largemouth Bass population at Burke Lake Park. The lake is ranked tops among the state's "small impoundments" in relative stock density of preferred fish, which measures the percentage of the population comprised of big fish at least 15 inches long. The lake also features Walleye, Muskie, Catfish, Black Crappie, Yellow and White Perch, and a variety of Sunfish and Bluegill. Virginia residents age 16 and up need a fishing license (http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/offsite/?pg=http://www.dgif.virginia.gov) to try their luck at Burke."

I've been fishing there since I was a kid and have never seen a muskie caught, heard of a few but always a friend of a friend of a friend......

[ang81]

A buddy of mine fishes it every spring from Mothers day till the 4th of July. Although his take in recent years has dropped he still manages some very nice Muskies. Most of the fish come off the island and the area just off of the fishing pier. We troll 2 transom mount electric trolling motors on 3 batteries. This allows us to troll up to 4hrs and maintain a speed that is needed to trigger a strike. I caught my only Muskie with him and for a while he held the lake record at around 27# average size for this lake is around 18 to 22#. They also have a good population of Blue cats up to 30#

[strbas]

My employer is based in Milwaukee. Caught a 36 incher in a nearby lake. You can troll or cast- the locals call Muskie the " Fish of a Thousand casts". Use about a 12" plug of the craziest looking colors and the key is to physically put the rod tip in the water on each cast when the plug or in line spinner gets to the boat and make figure eights. Normal for the fish to take the lure right at the boat. Use a baitcaster with a fairly light drag because so often they hit so close to the boat.
Late fall before ice over is the trophy time up north.

[blue lou]

Used to fish Burke a lot when we lived in Springfiled, There are all sorts of things swimming in there, but the lake is a hard nut to crack. We did the best livelinning in the cold months for the Muskies.