I live on Gull and fish it as hard as anyone including most of the guides... I catch and release a good number of bass, walleyes, and northerns and have not had one Muskie bite or follow in the 5 years that I have been fishing this lake year round... If they are here, there are very, very few and they are not reproducing. I also have friends who fish the lake hard and they also have not seen a Muskie....

Also with the number of bass tournaments on the lake one would think one of the guys/gals would catch one or at a minimum say they had a follow... I don't think it's happened....

So in a nutshell you have lot's of very good fisherman hitting the lake hard in areas that would hold Muskies but none are caught or reported as follows...

I honestly doubt if there are any in the lake unless an avid Muskie angler or two have put a few in the lake...

Also, I fish Muskies on other lakes and I am not a Muskie hater... I was on Cedar Lake yesterday targeting Muskies and had a great time even though I did not catch one but did have a follow and it was a very big fish...

Just my humble and honest opinion on Gull Lake..

The DNR supposedly wants to add about a dozen or so extra lakes to the muskie list in the next few years...so maybe they just stock all the brainerd lakes to fill that quota...they are just about all connected to each other anyway, and all provide great perch, panfish, tullibee forage base.

The whitefish chain is just as connected to the 'sippi as gull is, so in theory it too could have had stray muskies before the cross lake dam was built.

So anyway, if muskies were stocked into all the major area lakes (gull, whitefish, pelican, round, edwards, hubert, north long) then the pressure from all 9 boats targeting muskies on any given weekend would be spread out.

I will end this by saying I don't target muskies, but they are fun to catch while targeting bass. But ultimately I won't lose any sleep wether they do or don't stock them in the brainerd area.

My dad has a place on Gull and I fish it a bit. Last summer I was at his dock getting the gear off my boat at about 11 AM because the pleasure boat traffic had picked up quite a bit. A guy walked up to the dock with a petition against Musky stocking. He said that the addition of Musky would worsen the problem of boat traffic. He said that we don't need more fisherman on Gull. I looked down at my boat and then out at the jet skis and ski boats and toons.... and shook my head. I don't mind the pleasure boaters, I am one at times, but using fishing traffic to convince land owners to sign the petition is just the kind of disingenuous [PoorWordUsage] that makes me despise the whole process.

The word really wasn't that bad

Fish on ---- There might be some turth to what you say but about # of years BUT, I,ve seen guite a few 50 inch in my day usally 1 or 2 the first 3 or 4 weeks of the open water season on W.B.L. and my life isn't over. Thank you JConrad I agree with you 100%. I've know a lot people who have fish Gull the Linders,Marv Keop to name a few and haven't heard them say a thing about Muskies. I've read books on gull no muskies.
How can fish get thought the dam? Not only on Gull but,on crow wing river also. Prior to the dam their wasn't a river going out Gull either.

I was checked by a Cass Co. Sheriff officer last week and we talked about pike. He said he has landed 2 muskies out of Gull. And I have heard that during pike tournaments there have been a few boated. Not that this really matters, but I don't understand how people can say ther are definitly no muskies in Gull. There is a lot of water out there...

I don't think I should have to leave Crow Wing County to fish muskies...I think the public and the DNR should be able to come up with one lake to stock muskies. This is the Brainerd Lakes area, and not 1 lake in the Brainerd, Nisswa, Pine River area to fish for muskies. That does not seem right.
I know the river has them, but with water level changes that is not really a great place to take your 17 footer unless you really know where you are going.
I like to fish for Pike and spear in the winter, I am certainly not out to fork the big ones..I have fun watching them. If they stock a lake with muskies and spearing is closed on that lake..oh well, there are dozens more lake for me to put my spear house on for pike.

npn74 hits the nail on the head. Very nice post. Thank you for offering your perspective as a muskie angler and spearer.

The Brainerd area is a huge fishing and recreational destination, and to be void of muskie lakes is frustrating. Sure, one could drive to Mille, Sham, or Alex, but that's a haul from the northern end of the Brainerd lakes area. At that point it would be asier to hit Leech, or the Longville area, or head west to DL.

Read closely and you'll see the point at the center of the discussion. Viable and productive muskie waters on productive multi-species all AROUND the Brainerd area, but not IN the area.

From a fisheries standpoint, Gull would be exceptional. That said, as an avid muskie angler (I'm a FM specialist in the Muskie/Pike forums), Gull does get very busy at times! It's been referred to as the Minnetonka of the North, or vice versa. However, 'tonka is a great muskie water, just difficult to fish June-Aug on weekends or after noon on any given summer day. Sept and Oct however, I love fishing 'tonka, and with success. We've made 'tonka work, Gull could too, or several other waters in the area that would be potential muskie waters.

Pretty crazy that as a "city slicker" I have about 15 solid pure strain and 20+ hybrid lakes close to the 612 area code, and Brainerd has...........zero? TC chapter of Muskies Inc is working on raising around $30k for about 1000 yearlings to be stocked between White Bear and Minnetonka. Both recreational lakes, both solid multi-species lakes, both along the lines of general characteristics of Gull....


For the record, there were a few muskies caught in the Northerns Inc tournament on Gull a couple years ago.

Good discussion both ways....... Thanks all....

Some of the "problems" with getting muskies started in Gull start with the some local guides, former guides, bait shop owners, and the big money-non fishermen who think they own the lake.

Let's hear Marv Keop, Sportland Bait, and any other muskie opposition voice a logical, biologically sound reason not to stock the lake.

I (we) all got to hear their opposition and threats locally. It seems like nothing but love for these guys on here too much.

I know who the moderators are, but I also think the people need to know who's doing the anti muskie hype up here and reflect what we think of it by whom we share our hard earned money with.

Ossawinamakee has muskies....

There are Muskies in Gull and most other lakes. Just an extremely small amount and alot of other things that most don't know about, I'm sure.

I agree with stocking the WFC! What a great fishery that would be. Brainerd does need another Muskie Lake. It would help take some of the Muskie fishing pressure off of some other lakes. And there is no denying that Muskie fishing is the fastest growing species in popularity. And you better believe that the anglers from Iowa, Illinois, MO and Wisconsin come to this area in full force to fish Muskies. And they spend Mega amounts of cash like it's nothing (they bring their wives who spend all day at the shops and use the boat as a uhaul on the way back home :D, I've seen it!). Our local economies need that cash and we need those tax dollars put back into the brainerd economy. Not someone elses economy up 371 or E or W on 10.

I've heard that. But is it a fishable population?

Not sure about the quantity of skies, but I know they are in the Ossiwinni chain though.

Keep it simple, Which lakes have been helped or hurt by muskies? Either they have a history of destroying a fishery like gull or they don't. Where's the proof?

there are probably 6 muskies in Ossi. j/k but its not a very big population

Ive been trying for muskie on ossie for 2 years with no luck but a friend has some photos of his catches from 5-7 years ago that keeps me hoping

Not a good population in ossi I dont believe. It's also closed off from the other lakes on its chain.