## 4 Discussion  
Agency stocking programs and adult Muskellunge populations would benefit from a better understanding of Muskellunge poststocking behavior and the survival of hatchery products. Telemetry studies may provide critical information regarding initial stocking success and factors that may be contributing to recruitment bottlenecks. This study documented that poststocking survival of large yearling Muskellunge in two natural lakes of differing biotic and abiotic characteristics was exceptionally high (86.7-90.0%). While others have documented substantial mortality resulting from terrestrial and fish predators [5; 10], only three fish died in this study. The large size of yearling Muskellunge evaluated here likely contributed to high poststocking survival rates as fish size alone can reduce predation risks from other fish predators [3; 4; 28; 29; 31]. These findings also were considerably different from previous studies conducted in Iowa as mortality resulting from avian and terrestrial predation alone accounted for 46.7% and 32.3% of known mortalities in Spirit Lake and Big Creek Reservoir, respectively [6; 31]. Besides the Muskellunge size being substantially larger, Muskellunge predation via avian and other terrestrial predators in Spirit Lake may have been minimized in this study through stocking fish offshore, as previously observed during a short-term poststocking survival evaluation of smaller Muskellunge (325-386 mm; [29]). For example, in this study, extensive curly-leaf pondweed beds (followed by abundant native submersed aquatic vegetation) were immediately available to yearling Muskellunge stocked offshore in deep (\(\geq\)3 m) water habitats, and fish displayed high affinity (179 of 244 fish detections) to these areas throughout the telemetry experiment. Others have documented that young Muskellunge (wild or stocked) often prefer shallow vegetated habitats [2; 5; 35; 36], but these environments can also have negative consequences since Muskellunge may become more susceptible to terrestrial predation [6; 31], especially in clear water. In Spirit Lake, aquatic vegetation was abundant in both shallow and deep water habitats throughout the telemetry investigation, yet 96.3% of fish detections were in depths \(\geq\)1 m and \(\geq\)45 m from the shoreline, thus substantially limiting impacts of nearshore predator-prey interactions. Conversely, at Lake Cornelia, yearling Muskellunge stocked at a boat ramp had high survival rates, regardless of depth usage. However, we did not expect high predation at Lake Cornelia due to the recent fish renovation and fewer terrestrial predation risks there ([PERSON], Wright County Conservation, personal communication). Nevertheless, this study did document that Muskellunge size as well as stocking practices may help reduce most short-term predation risks in both simple and complex natural lakes, and managers may need to consider both tools when developing stocking plans for managed Muskellunge fisheries. The high survival of radio-tagged yearling Muskellunge during this study provided multiple observations of dispersal, movement patterns, and habitat usages at two very distinct natural lakes managed for Muskellunge for a period up to 112 DPS. Although several studies have examined poststocking Muskellunge movement and habitat usage via telemetry in rivers and impoundments across the managed range of this species [5; 6; 10; 34; 37], little information exists for young Muskellunge poststocking behavior in natural lakes stocked in either the fall [2] or spring [29; 31]. Muskellunge stocked in the fall in two northern Wisconsin lakes dispersed rapidly after a short recovery period of 1 DPS and selected nearshore, shallow (\(<\)3.1 m), vegetated areas up to 34 DPS. Those stocked in the spring, however, varied substantially in their dispersal and movement patterns within the first 10 DPS, with fish stocked in May exhibiting lower dispersal rates than those stocked in late June [29]. Dispersal of May-stocked fish, however, increased substantially after 11 DPS.