As I mentioned on the chat board, I have had the same survey questions going for quite sometime and I must admit that some of the results I found surprising, while others came in as I expected them too. I won't be presumptious enough to assume that the statistics gathered here are accurate for the whole Musky/Pike fishing world, but I think it is interesting to say the least. Before I do a little synopsis of what was on the survey board, first let me say thank you for participating in the past survey, and hopefully you will participate again in the new questions which should be posted shortly. BTW, feel free to e-mail me with a question you would like posted.
Since questions were added over time, we have had questions ranging from 64 responses on the oldest question to just 34 on the newer ones. The following is a breakdown as to the questions and responses:
What is your favorite bait for muskies / pike? The results of this question went as I expected it would, with some slight differences. First, I expected that the old spinner bait would be the number one lure, and it was with approximately 30% of the votes. Surprisingly crankbaits (22%), jerk baits (23%) and top water baits (19%) were virtually even.
Do you prefer to catch numbers or muskies or fewer bigger fish? The question went as I predicted it would go, but the difference was bigger than I expected. By a majority of 71% to 29% most fisherman want to catch larger fish, even if the action is less frequent.
Number of days you fish? I probably shouldn't have been surprised, but I have a tendency to base everybody's schedule based on mine (stuck at work way to much). Anyway, there is a slightly better than a 59% chance that you fish more that 26 days a year.
How many tackleboxes do you carry? This question was also predictable in that there is a 76% chance you will carry 2 to 3 tackle boxes with a 46% chance you'll have two with you.
How many musky lures do you own? This question could be the prototype for the bell shape curver in that exactly the same number (7) of people had 10 or less musky lures, as had a 100 or more. As it turned out 54% had 21 to 100 musky lures with the ranges broken down pretty evenly. I would say that would put the average ownership at around 50 lures.
Short of a world record musky, what would you do with it? While I anticipated this answer, I was more than delighted to find that almost 95% of the responses were to release the fish. CONGRATULATIONS.
What percentage of the time do you fish for musky? This question was again split down the center. 50% even fished for musky more than 50% of their fishing time, with 18% exclusively fishing for them.
What is most important factor in selecting a resort? While I expected some of the answers to this question, I was surprised also by some of the others. The number 1 response without question was the availability of big fish (65%), while cost, resort owner and staff each got 8% respectively. I was surprised that amenities such as a bar, boats, bait, and restaurant only garnered 2% of the vote, while availability of shops, businessess, nightclubs didn't get a single vote.
Do you release larger species of other fish? Again, the website visitors proved they are conservation minded in that almost 49% said they would release any larger fish regardless of specie, while 43% said they would only keep panfish and release others. The is a total of 92% for releasing larger gamefish, again CONGRATULATIONS are in order.
Do you have any fish mounts? 44% said they did not have any mounts while 56% did. While it isn't scientifically significant it would appear that fiberglass replicas are catching on with 15% of the respondants stating that they had one or more.
The last question is whether the respondant was a member of an organized fishing club? According to the 36 responses, it would seem that 66.67% (24) are not involved with a club, while exact 33.33 say they are club members.
I will have some new questions on the survey and would ask that you participate in the new survey. It should be noted that I am just gathering information so that we can see how are ideas are shared with our other fishing members.
Click the mailbox to e-mail. Last updated on ... August 3, 2002