Melton Hill Reservoir Muskie Radio Tagging Research
(This page was last updated: 03/07/2010)
Tennessee Tech University and United States Geological Survey researchers have begun a multi-year study of the movements, habitat use, and thermal ecology of muskie in Melton Hill Lake located in Anderson, Knox, and Loudon Counties. Muskies have been consistently stocked into Melton Hill Lake since 1998 and a popular fishery has developed that attracts anglers from as far away as Wisconsin and Minnesota.
The researchers are working with TWRA’s Region IV biologists to capture several dozen adult muskies this winter using electrofishing gear. A small radio transmitter weighing less than one ounce with a life span of several years is surgically implanted into the abdominal cavity of each fish. Within a few weeks, the incision heals and anglers will not know they have caught a radio-tagged fish unless they see the 15-inch, thin silver wire antennae extending through the side or bottom of the fish.
Anglers who have any questions should contact Jim Negus, Aaron Cole, or Dr. Phil Bettoli. The researchers would also like to hear from anglers who catch one of these radio-tagged fish regarding where and when they caught it. Although some of these tagged muskies will eventually grow longer than the minimum size limit of 50-inches, the researchers are hoping anglers will choose to release tagged fish unharmed. This research is funded by TWRA, Tennessee Tech University, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Also see the Floy tagging page
Angler, Ty Phipps, catches and releases a radio tagged muskie
Tennessee Tech inserting a radio tag into a muskie
Tennessee Tech's Aaron Cole suturing a radio tag insertion point
