Although it may take years, muskie anglers are hooked on the idea of making Lake Arthur the state's first trophy fishery -- modeled after those in Wisconsin -- where the creel minimum is 50 inches.

It is the impetus behind the Moraine Musky Association, which drew more than 80 anglers to its kickoff meeting Monday at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church, on the shores of Arthur in Prospect. The group will meet monthly.

"That's why I'm here," said Brian Boyer, a lure maker from Shelocta, Pa., who organized the group with muskie guide Howard Wagner of Fombell. "We finally got the 40-inch minimum across the state. Now maybe we can get a 48- or a 50-inch minimum here."

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission considered the trophy muskie lake concept when it overhauled its muskie regulations two years ago, permitting a year-round open season on all but select nursery lakes, and implementing a 40-inch minimum and one-a-day creel limit.

Although the trophy-lake idea could be revisited, chief warmwater biologist Bob Lorantas said the agency first needs to gauge the effects of the new regulations, a process that will take time.

Arthur is one of the state's most productive muskie fisheries, he said.

"It has the components for yielding large fish," said Lorantas. "Fertile water and an exceptionally diverse forage base of alewife, gizzard shad and, for the larger muskies, suckers and small carp."

Lorantas puts it in garden terms.

"Water fertility is often correlated with pounds of fish flesh produced. If you were growing tomatoes you'd get more per acre in loamy bottomland soils than in thin acidic soils high up in the Laurel Ridge," he said. " It's the same with fish. Survival at Arthur tends to be good, and the pounds of fish per acre and size are above the state average."

Anglers agree.

"There's so much feed in this lake, the fish get nice and fat," said lure maker Jerry Minteer of Worthington at Monday's meeting. "If you catch a muskie 47 inches here, it goes 30 pounds."

Along with Pymatuning, Raystown and Allegheny reservoirs, Arthur is one of the top four muskie lakes in the state, said Wagner, who put a client onto a 53-inch muskie trolling a Rosso Pikie Minnow at Arthur last summer.

"Every muskie fisherman in the eastern U.S. knows about Arthur and a lot have fished it," he said. "I think it could produce the next state record if enough guys in a club stick together."

Many at the meeting said their goal is to convince the commission to increase stockings at Arthur and promote the catch-and-release ethic. Although the commission has planted 30,000 muskies in recent years, few survive to trophy size.

"That lake gets fished so heavily, it's hard for fish to reach their true potential," Wagner said. "We want to show people how much fun it is to catch big muskies, but also how to properly release them. It will help ensure the protection of muskies until they reach the 40-inch minimum."

Wagner said his group wants to work with the state on muskie stockings and habitat improvements, but a big focus will be angler education. The advantage of providing a watchful eye will outweigh any additional fishing pressure his association will attract to Arthur, he said.

"After schools are out, the lake gets 1,000 people a day and more muskies are caught by accident than by people actually targeting [the] fish," he said. "We want to see them released, and released properly."