## 2 Materials and Methods  
Study systems--Spirit Lake (2300 ha) is located in Dickinson County (northwest Iowa; Figure 1) and has a watershed size of 15,349 ha that consists primarily of agriculture. Spirit Lake is a large bowl-shaped, eutrophic, wind-swept natural lake with few rock reefs and several shallow bays fringed with emergent vegetation. The lake's basin slopes gradually with a mean depth of 4.8 m, a maximum depth of 7.4 m, and a water conductivity of 357 \(\pm\) 9.9 \(\upmu\)S/cm (mean \(\pm\) standard error [SE]). Submersed aquatic vegetation is abundant during the open water season in Spirit Lake. Extensive curly leaf pondowed _Potamogeton crispus_ stands are common in shallow (<6.0 m) habitats from April to early July, and many native species (e.g., wild celery _Valliseria americana_; bushy pondowed _Najas flexilis_; clasping-leaf pondweed _Potamogeton perfoliatus_; contail _Certophyllum demersum_) are present during the remainder of the growing season. The Spirit Lake fishery is diverse, with several species of top-level predators managed both as sport fisheries and broodock population sources for the state fish hatchery. Piscivores assemblage includes Muskellunge, Northern Pike _Eosx lucius_, Walleye _Sander vitreus_, Largemouth Bass _Microterus salmonies_, and Smallmouth Bass _Microterus dolomieu_. Lake Cornelia (Wright County; Figure 1) has a similar basin shape to Spirit Lake but is a much smaller (99 ha; 399 ha watershed) and shallower (mean depth of 2.9 m; maximum depth of 6.3 m) natural lake located in north-central Iowa. Lake Cornelia has limited basin and habitat complexity, and water conductivity averages 321 \(\pm\) 8.8 \(\upmu\)S/cm (mean \(\pm\) SE). A very small remnant of emergent vegetation exists on the northwest and south shores. Submergent vegetation consists of curly leaf pondweed early in the growing season and moderate to low amounts of sago pondweed _Potamogeton pectinatus_, clasping-leaf pondweed, bushy pondweed, and longleaf pondweed _Potamogeton nodosus_ persisting in shallow (<2.7 m) water habitats throughout the summer months. In the fall of 2022, a whole-lake low-dose (8 ppb) rotenone experiment was conducted at Lake Cornelia in an attempt to manage non-native Yellow Bass _Morone mississippiensis_. As part of this treatment, piscivore species that were less tolerant to these concentrations of rotenone were eliminated from the fishery (e.g., Northern Pike and Walleye). Restocking of the lake with both juvenile and adult fish began in April 2023 and included Walleye, Muskellunge, Largemouth Bass, and  
Figure 1: Location of Spirit Lake (Dickinson County, IA; **left**) and Lake Cornelia (Wright County, IA; **right**) and individual yearling Muskellunge locations (black dots) determined via radio telemetry between 20 May and 8 September 2023. Muskellunge stocking location is denoted by a star (boat ramp stocking) at Lake Cornelia and a line transect (offshore, haphazard stocking technique) at Spirit Lake. other species of piscivores that are not commonly managed in natural lakes (i.e., Flathead Catfish _Pylodictis olivaris_; Blue Catfish _Ictalurus furcatus_). Fish tagging and stocking--On 18 May-19 May 2023, 25 large yearling Muskellunge (hereafter referred to as Muskellunge; mean TL \(\pm\) SE = 418 \(\pm\) 3.4 mm; \(n\) = 10-15 per lake; Table 1) were surgically implanted with a radio tag (Advanced Telemetry Systems, Isanti, MN, USA; Model F1440; 2.1 g in water; 158-d battery life; 0.4-0.9% of body weight) at the Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery, Spirit Lake, IA, USA. The average size of Muskellunge was similar between the two lakes (mean TL \(\pm\) SE, Spirit Lake: 416 \(\pm\) 4.8 mm; Lake Cornelia: 420 \(\pm\) 5.0 mm). Fish were anesthetized with tricaine methanesulfonate-laden water (approximately 75 mg/L) and then measured (TL, mm), weighed (g), and a 12.5 mm Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT; Electronic Identification Devices, Ltd., Santa Barbara, CA, USA, Model FDX; 134.2 KHZ frequency) tag was implanted in the dorsal musculature.