BABCOCK, Wis. – People interested in learning more about Wisconsin’s marshland frogs and toads can join herpetologist Dan Nedrelo on a night-time frogging adventure Saturday, May 16 at Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center. The workshop will include a a discussion of frog ecology and status, and then participants will search for and identify the croakers in their marshland boudoirs.
Participants should bring their own meal and refreshments if desired. Hip boots are required for this swampy soiree and are available upon request.
Registration is limited to 25 people on a first-come, first-served basis. Register by mailing in a registration fee of $20 per person by May 8. Participants may stay overnight in the skill center dorm following the event for a donation of $15 per person per night.
Checks should be made out to DNR-Skills Center. Include the name of each participant, and the address and daytime phone number of one person in each party. Send your registration fee to: Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center, PO Box 156, Babcock, WI 54413. Inquiries on the status of registrations may be sent via e-mail to: Richard.Thiel@wisconsin.gov.
The Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center is located 20 miles west of Wisconsin Rapids on County Highway X, 1 mile north of Highway 80 near Babcock, Wisconsin on the 9,000 acre Department of Natural Resources Sandhill Wildlife Area.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Early Season Lake Winnebago Walleyes
April 27th – Jim O’Brian, fishing guide and owner of Dancing With Walleyes Fishing Guide Service LLC, gives a Powerpoint presentation on “Area Hotspots for Opening Weekend,” plus a special presentation covering “Early Season Lake Winnebago Walleyes.” $5.00, 7 p.m. meeting & 8 p.m. speaker. Calhoun Station, 1849 So. Calhoun Rd., New Berlin. Contact Dan Freiherr, treasurer, (414) 464-9316. Fishing reports, fishing equipment raffle plus hot pizza is available.
Jim O’Brian is a highly successful guide who guides anglers of all ages. O’Brian is experienced regarding fishing techniques and locations for both panfish and gamefish. For your Opening Day, this is a must attend meeting covering how to catch fish in increased numbers near Milwaukee and on Lake Winnebago. Bring your angling friends and relatives. Make this a fun night with your fishing buddies.
Wisconsin Fishing Club, Ltd
Jim O’Brian is a highly successful guide who guides anglers of all ages. O’Brian is experienced regarding fishing techniques and locations for both panfish and gamefish. For your Opening Day, this is a must attend meeting covering how to catch fish in increased numbers near Milwaukee and on Lake Winnebago. Bring your angling friends and relatives. Make this a fun night with your fishing buddies.
Wisconsin Fishing Club, Ltd
Up to 70 waters to be tested for VHS fish disease: 2008 results good but expansion in Lake Michigan concerning
MADISON – Three years after VHS fish disease was first detected in Wisconsin waters, state fisheries officials are confident that good compliance with new rules and procedures can continue to contain the fish disease.
But they are keeping a close watch on lakes and rivers, particularly the Lake Winnebago and Lake Michigan systems where VHS has been found. Viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS, is not a human health threat but it can infect 37 different fish species and has caused big fish kills in other Great Lakes waters.
Testing is underway for VHS on up to 70 lakes and rivers across the state, and Department of Natural Resources fisheries staff are expanding efforts to look at susceptible species in the Winnebago System.
“We’re entering our third year with VHS in pretty good shape due to the efforts we’ve taken to contain the disease and the cooperation we’ve had from people who can potentially spread the disease: boaters, anglers, bait harvesters, fish farmers and our own fisheries management staff,” says Mike Staggs, who leads the Department of Natural Resources’ fisheries management program. “We didn't find VHS in any new waters in 2008 testing and that’s a credit to everybody who followed the new rules and procedures.”
Staggs is concerned, however, that 2008 saw VHS expand its range much farther south in Lake Michigan, killing round gobies and yellow perch near Milwaukee.
The disease poses a threat to southern Lake Michigan fish as well as increases the chance that VHS will inadvertently be spread by boaters and anglers moving infected live fish and contaminated water back and forth between Lake Michigan and inland waters. Lake Michigan is the state’s most popular water and the one that people most often trailer their boat to and from, according to a 2007 DNR study of recreational boaters.
Sue Marcquenski, the DNR’s fish health specialist, is also closely watching what happens on Lake Winnebago and Lake Michigan to see if they exhibit the same pattern seen on some other Great Lakes waters where VHS has been detected.
“My hunch is that there may be a lag time of at least two years after VHS causes an initial outbreak before we see fish kills in new locations, or in new species from the same location,” she says.
Staggs says that DNR will be carefully monitoring state waters for VHS this year and working closely with the public to prevent the spread of the deadly fish disease.
Testing underway to learn where VHS is found
This spring, the DNR will conduct “surveillance” testing on 27 waters to continue to assess the prevalence of VHS. In addition, four hatchery water supplies and all wild fish DNR uses for broodstock for its hatcheries will be tested for VHS to make sure fish stocked from state fish hatcheries are VHS-free.
The DNR also will test fish from suspicious fish kills. All told, more than 50 waters and as many as 70 will be tested, says Tim Simonson, who coordinates VHS surveillance testing.
Those waters planned for surveillance testing are popular and highly trafficked waters by anglers and boaters, increasing the chances of VHS being spread by the movement of water and live fish, Simonson says. Mendota Lake in Dane County, Geneva Lake in Walworth County, Castle Rock Lake in Juneau and Adams counties, and Butternut Lake in Price County are among those on the list.
Sampling occurs while the water temperatures are below 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the period when the virus is most active. DNR fish crews will collect tissue samples from 170 individual fish from each of the 27 waters for surveillance testing, focusing on susceptible species. The Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Madison, the La Crosse Fish Health Center and Microtechnologies, a private lab in Maine, will do the testing.
Working with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the La Crosse Fish Health Center, sampling for VHS will also take place on Pools 9 and 10 of the Mississippi River, and the St. Louis Estuary on the St. Louis River.
The costs associated with the VHS testing is paid for with a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Inspection Service as well as a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration (SFR) and fishing license sales.
People finding fish with symptoms of VHS are encouraged to contact their local fish biologist. More information is available on the VHS Web site.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Staggs (608) 267-0796; Tim Simonson (608) 266-5222.
But they are keeping a close watch on lakes and rivers, particularly the Lake Winnebago and Lake Michigan systems where VHS has been found. Viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS, is not a human health threat but it can infect 37 different fish species and has caused big fish kills in other Great Lakes waters.
Testing is underway for VHS on up to 70 lakes and rivers across the state, and Department of Natural Resources fisheries staff are expanding efforts to look at susceptible species in the Winnebago System.
“We’re entering our third year with VHS in pretty good shape due to the efforts we’ve taken to contain the disease and the cooperation we’ve had from people who can potentially spread the disease: boaters, anglers, bait harvesters, fish farmers and our own fisheries management staff,” says Mike Staggs, who leads the Department of Natural Resources’ fisheries management program. “We didn't find VHS in any new waters in 2008 testing and that’s a credit to everybody who followed the new rules and procedures.”
Staggs is concerned, however, that 2008 saw VHS expand its range much farther south in Lake Michigan, killing round gobies and yellow perch near Milwaukee.
The disease poses a threat to southern Lake Michigan fish as well as increases the chance that VHS will inadvertently be spread by boaters and anglers moving infected live fish and contaminated water back and forth between Lake Michigan and inland waters. Lake Michigan is the state’s most popular water and the one that people most often trailer their boat to and from, according to a 2007 DNR study of recreational boaters.
Sue Marcquenski, the DNR’s fish health specialist, is also closely watching what happens on Lake Winnebago and Lake Michigan to see if they exhibit the same pattern seen on some other Great Lakes waters where VHS has been detected.
“My hunch is that there may be a lag time of at least two years after VHS causes an initial outbreak before we see fish kills in new locations, or in new species from the same location,” she says.
Staggs says that DNR will be carefully monitoring state waters for VHS this year and working closely with the public to prevent the spread of the deadly fish disease.
Testing underway to learn where VHS is found
This spring, the DNR will conduct “surveillance” testing on 27 waters to continue to assess the prevalence of VHS. In addition, four hatchery water supplies and all wild fish DNR uses for broodstock for its hatcheries will be tested for VHS to make sure fish stocked from state fish hatcheries are VHS-free.
The DNR also will test fish from suspicious fish kills. All told, more than 50 waters and as many as 70 will be tested, says Tim Simonson, who coordinates VHS surveillance testing.
Those waters planned for surveillance testing are popular and highly trafficked waters by anglers and boaters, increasing the chances of VHS being spread by the movement of water and live fish, Simonson says. Mendota Lake in Dane County, Geneva Lake in Walworth County, Castle Rock Lake in Juneau and Adams counties, and Butternut Lake in Price County are among those on the list.
Sampling occurs while the water temperatures are below 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the period when the virus is most active. DNR fish crews will collect tissue samples from 170 individual fish from each of the 27 waters for surveillance testing, focusing on susceptible species. The Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Madison, the La Crosse Fish Health Center and Microtechnologies, a private lab in Maine, will do the testing.
Working with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the La Crosse Fish Health Center, sampling for VHS will also take place on Pools 9 and 10 of the Mississippi River, and the St. Louis Estuary on the St. Louis River.
The costs associated with the VHS testing is paid for with a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Inspection Service as well as a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration (SFR) and fishing license sales.
People finding fish with symptoms of VHS are encouraged to contact their local fish biologist. More information is available on the VHS Web site.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Staggs (608) 267-0796; Tim Simonson (608) 266-5222.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Wisconsin Outdoor Report as of April 2, 2009
Northern Region Northeast Region Southeast Region South Central Region West Central Region
Winter made a brief return to the state this week, with snowfall ranging from 1 to 5 inches reported across parts of southern and northern Wisconsin. Snow melted quickly in the south, but from 1 to 5 inches was still reported on the ground across the north. More snow is in the forecast in the north, but even if it arrives, snowmobilers are reminded that trails are now closed for the season, as trail easements have expired for the year, and state parks and forests will not be grooming ski trails any more this season.
Lakes are now opening up through central Wisconsin with open water reported from the Eau Claire through Waupaca areas. The North and South Forks of the Flambeau River are open. Ice depths still range from 14 to 16 inches on some Northwoods lakes, but access sites are in poor condition and shorelines are beginning to open up on shallow bays. The waters of Green Bay remain frozen, but large patches of open water are now present. Strong winds from the southeast this week shoved large amounts of ice onto the west shoreline of Lake Winnebago, with up to 25 feet measured along the Neenah shoreline.
Ice fishing pressure in the north has been light and panfish success has been limited, with anglers having to move around quite a bit to find active fish. Some crappie have been found in deeper water suspended 4 to 5 feet off the bottom. Perch have been moving up to shallower water and near old weed beds. Although northern rivers open or have open stretches, water temperatures have been holding in the 35 to 38 degree range and sucker runs have not yet begun.
The Menominee River was providing a few early boat anglers with some walleye action at Marinette and shore anglers were getting a mixed bag of steelhead and walleye. Angling pressure picked up on the Oconto River with some success for steelhead. The steelhead run was slower this week on Manitowoc, Twin, Sheboygan and Pigeon rivers. The Milwaukee River remains relatively high, but some steelhead have been caught. Water levels on the Root River are good, but the temperature has dropped down and steelhead have moved into the deeper pools. Boaters have been fishing open water at harbors and have had some success with brown trout and steelhead at Sheboygan, Port Washington, and Milwaukee.
The Wolf River saw a lot walleye action this week and the Fox River was also producing bag limits of walleye. The water temperature in the Wisconsin River below the Prairie du Sac Dam is at 42 degrees. The walleye activity has been increasing with a number of people catching nice fish. Water levels are still extremely high on the Rock and Crawfish rivers and snow-no-wake ordinances remain in effect in Rock and Jefferson counties. Anglers fishing the Rock River have been catching some legal size walleye and white bass were still being caught in below the dam in Jefferson. As of April 1, the Mississippi River stage was at 11.4 feet at Prairie du Chien, up from 10 feet last week, and expected to climb to about 11.7 feet over the weekend. Walleye and sauger action was very spotty this week, but some decent fish have been taken.
Turkey flocks are breaking up with increasing reports of tom turkeys displaying with tail feathers all fanned out.
Skunk cabbage is starting to emerge. With daytime temperatures above freezing and night time temperatures below, conditions have been good for maple sap tapping. Sugar houses have been filled with steam as the sap is boiled down to make syrup. The MacKenzie Environmental Education Center in Poynette will be holding its Maple Syrup Festival this Saturday, April 4 with guided tours of the center's sugar bush and maple syrup-making process, horse-drawn wagon rides, and, of course, maple syrup tasting.
Winter made a brief return to the state this week, with snowfall ranging from 1 to 5 inches reported across parts of southern and northern Wisconsin. Snow melted quickly in the south, but from 1 to 5 inches was still reported on the ground across the north. More snow is in the forecast in the north, but even if it arrives, snowmobilers are reminded that trails are now closed for the season, as trail easements have expired for the year, and state parks and forests will not be grooming ski trails any more this season.
Lakes are now opening up through central Wisconsin with open water reported from the Eau Claire through Waupaca areas. The North and South Forks of the Flambeau River are open. Ice depths still range from 14 to 16 inches on some Northwoods lakes, but access sites are in poor condition and shorelines are beginning to open up on shallow bays. The waters of Green Bay remain frozen, but large patches of open water are now present. Strong winds from the southeast this week shoved large amounts of ice onto the west shoreline of Lake Winnebago, with up to 25 feet measured along the Neenah shoreline.
Ice fishing pressure in the north has been light and panfish success has been limited, with anglers having to move around quite a bit to find active fish. Some crappie have been found in deeper water suspended 4 to 5 feet off the bottom. Perch have been moving up to shallower water and near old weed beds. Although northern rivers open or have open stretches, water temperatures have been holding in the 35 to 38 degree range and sucker runs have not yet begun.
The Menominee River was providing a few early boat anglers with some walleye action at Marinette and shore anglers were getting a mixed bag of steelhead and walleye. Angling pressure picked up on the Oconto River with some success for steelhead. The steelhead run was slower this week on Manitowoc, Twin, Sheboygan and Pigeon rivers. The Milwaukee River remains relatively high, but some steelhead have been caught. Water levels on the Root River are good, but the temperature has dropped down and steelhead have moved into the deeper pools. Boaters have been fishing open water at harbors and have had some success with brown trout and steelhead at Sheboygan, Port Washington, and Milwaukee.
The Wolf River saw a lot walleye action this week and the Fox River was also producing bag limits of walleye. The water temperature in the Wisconsin River below the Prairie du Sac Dam is at 42 degrees. The walleye activity has been increasing with a number of people catching nice fish. Water levels are still extremely high on the Rock and Crawfish rivers and snow-no-wake ordinances remain in effect in Rock and Jefferson counties. Anglers fishing the Rock River have been catching some legal size walleye and white bass were still being caught in below the dam in Jefferson. As of April 1, the Mississippi River stage was at 11.4 feet at Prairie du Chien, up from 10 feet last week, and expected to climb to about 11.7 feet over the weekend. Walleye and sauger action was very spotty this week, but some decent fish have been taken.
Turkey flocks are breaking up with increasing reports of tom turkeys displaying with tail feathers all fanned out.
Skunk cabbage is starting to emerge. With daytime temperatures above freezing and night time temperatures below, conditions have been good for maple sap tapping. Sugar houses have been filled with steam as the sap is boiled down to make syrup. The MacKenzie Environmental Education Center in Poynette will be holding its Maple Syrup Festival this Saturday, April 4 with guided tours of the center's sugar bush and maple syrup-making process, horse-drawn wagon rides, and, of course, maple syrup tasting.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Outdoor cooking class offered
BABCOCK, Wis. -- Great food makes any outdoor experience better. Hunters, anglers, campers, and others interested in outdoor cooking can join the Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center staff to learn and practice techniques for creating successful outdoor meals.
Topics include building a proper cooking fire, equipment, cooking techniques, menu ideas and recipes. Lunch will be whatever the participants cook. The course will be offered Saturday, May 2 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Registration is limited to the first 25 people who mail in their $25 per person fee by April 24. Participants may stay overnight in the center’s dorm either prior to or following the event for a donation of $15 per person per night.
Checks should be made out to DNR-Skills Center. Include the name of the class, the names of each participant, and the address, e-mail address, and daytime phone number of one person in each party, and send to: Sandhill-DNR, Box 156, Babcock, WI 54413.
The Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center is located 20 miles west of Wisconsin Rapids on County Highway X, 1 mile north of Highway 80 near Babcock, Wisconsin on the 9,000 acre Department of Natural Resources Sandhill Wildlife Area.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandhill Skills Center at: (715) 884-6333 or (715) 884-2437
Topics include building a proper cooking fire, equipment, cooking techniques, menu ideas and recipes. Lunch will be whatever the participants cook. The course will be offered Saturday, May 2 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Registration is limited to the first 25 people who mail in their $25 per person fee by April 24. Participants may stay overnight in the center’s dorm either prior to or following the event for a donation of $15 per person per night.
Checks should be made out to DNR-Skills Center. Include the name of the class, the names of each participant, and the address, e-mail address, and daytime phone number of one person in each party, and send to: Sandhill-DNR, Box 156, Babcock, WI 54413.
The Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center is located 20 miles west of Wisconsin Rapids on County Highway X, 1 mile north of Highway 80 near Babcock, Wisconsin on the 9,000 acre Department of Natural Resources Sandhill Wildlife Area.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandhill Skills Center at: (715) 884-6333 or (715) 884-2437
Great Lakes photo contest winners announced
MADISON - Six photographers from Wisconsin earned top honors for their entries in the Department of Natural Resources’ inaugural “Discover Wisconsin’s Great Lakes” photography contest and will have their work featured in a calendar available this summer.
Shirley Birr of Suring, Thomas Ferrella of Madison, Jim Raiten of Manitowoc, Eric Poggemann of Fredonia, Robert E. Rolley of Madison, and Gervase Thompson of Brule all received either first or second place honors in the contest’s four categories.
Their photos will be featured in the 2009-2010 16-month calendar that DNR’s Office of the Great Lakes, which sponsored the contest, will give out at the 2009 Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis, Aug. 6-16, according to Jo Temte, the Great Lakes office water specialist who coordinated the contest.
The photos appearing in the calendar are available on the DNR Web site.
“We were thrilled with the interest in the contest and with the beautiful images these photographers shared,” Temte says. “The photos clearly show that the Great Lakes are among Wisconsin’s most scenic and beloved natural resources.”
Photographers from across Wisconsin as well as from Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, California and Germany submitted more than 170 photos from August 2008 through February 2009. The DNR also had asked for submissions from Wisconsin authors and received three poems and one song.
The Office of the Great Lakes plans to hold the contest annually and will begin accepting photos for next year’s contest Aug. 6, 2009.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo Temte (608) 267-0555
Shirley Birr of Suring, Thomas Ferrella of Madison, Jim Raiten of Manitowoc, Eric Poggemann of Fredonia, Robert E. Rolley of Madison, and Gervase Thompson of Brule all received either first or second place honors in the contest’s four categories.
Their photos will be featured in the 2009-2010 16-month calendar that DNR’s Office of the Great Lakes, which sponsored the contest, will give out at the 2009 Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis, Aug. 6-16, according to Jo Temte, the Great Lakes office water specialist who coordinated the contest.
The photos appearing in the calendar are available on the DNR Web site.
“We were thrilled with the interest in the contest and with the beautiful images these photographers shared,” Temte says. “The photos clearly show that the Great Lakes are among Wisconsin’s most scenic and beloved natural resources.”
Photographers from across Wisconsin as well as from Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, California and Germany submitted more than 170 photos from August 2008 through February 2009. The DNR also had asked for submissions from Wisconsin authors and received three poems and one song.
The Office of the Great Lakes plans to hold the contest annually and will begin accepting photos for next year’s contest Aug. 6, 2009.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo Temte (608) 267-0555
Lake Michigan sport fish harvests down in 2008
MADISON – High fuel prices in summer 2008 and bad fishing weather contributed to across-the-board decreases in the number of trout and salmon caught by Lake Michigan anglers in 2008, state fisheries official say.
Lower forage base levels may have contributed as well to the lower harvests, and for chinook, a lake-wide reduction in stocking levels since 2006 also may have shown up in anglers’ creels in 2008, they say.
Anglers spent a total of 2.5 million hours fishing Lake Michigan and tributaries, down from 3.1 million hours the previous year. While angler effort has been slowly declining in Lake Michigan since the 1980s, anglers spent less time on the water in 2009 than in any other year than 2000, angler surveys show.
“The weather was off for fishing, and with gas at $4 a gallon, more anglers decided they didn’t want to go out and look for the fish,” says Brad Eggold, Southern Lake Michigan fisheries supervisor for the Department of Natural Resources.
Unusual weather patterns kept the chinook farther away from shore and scattered throughout the water column, and the coho fishing also didn’t follow its normal pattern of starting off strong in spring in Kenosha area waters and slowly moving northward, Eggold says.
“In the past, when chinook and coho numbers dropped, boaters went out 12 miles off shore to locate and catch steelhead,” he says. “This didn’t happen this year, most likely due to gas prices and consequently, the catch for steelhead are low as are the overall salmon and trout catch.”
Anglers who fish Lake Michigan tributaries were the only category of anglers tracked in the survey that actually spent more time chasing their quarry in 2008 than the previous year.
Wisconsin anglers pulled in more than 650,000 fish of all species from Lake Michigan, with decreases in harvests of brook, rainbow, brown and lake trout, as well as yellow perch, and chinook and coho salmon. Lake Michigan anglers harvested 256,796 chinook in 2008; that places it in the top 10 years of harvest but down from the phenomenal 431,143 the previous year. The fish were larger, a good sign that the reduction in chinook stocking instituted by Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan in 2006 is working to bring chinook numbers closer in line with the forage base to sustain good fishing into the future, Eggold says.
“Chinook stocking was reduced lake-wide by 25 percent in 2006 to balance the amount of forage per numbers of fish,” says Eggold. “Because of the salmon’s maturity schedule, we saw little or no effect on harvest in 2007. The fewer, but larger fish in 2008 could be a sign that the reductions are doing what we needed them to do.”
What can anglers expect for Lake Michigan fishing in 2009?
“Gas prices are half the price they were a year ago and provided the weather cooperates and prey base stays adequate, anglers should continue to see solid numbers of chinook and a bounce back in coho,” says Eggold.
Additional information on chinook fishing can be found on the DNR Web site, including a chart showing overall trout and salmon harvests, and harvests broken down by species, in addition to more information on chinook salmon; the best seasons for Lake Michigan year-round chinook shore fishing.
More information on Lake Michigan fisheries is also available on the DNR Web site. The Lake Michigan Hotline at (414) 382-7920 features up-to-date fishing reports and conditions.
Lower forage base levels may have contributed as well to the lower harvests, and for chinook, a lake-wide reduction in stocking levels since 2006 also may have shown up in anglers’ creels in 2008, they say.
Anglers spent a total of 2.5 million hours fishing Lake Michigan and tributaries, down from 3.1 million hours the previous year. While angler effort has been slowly declining in Lake Michigan since the 1980s, anglers spent less time on the water in 2009 than in any other year than 2000, angler surveys show.
“The weather was off for fishing, and with gas at $4 a gallon, more anglers decided they didn’t want to go out and look for the fish,” says Brad Eggold, Southern Lake Michigan fisheries supervisor for the Department of Natural Resources.
Unusual weather patterns kept the chinook farther away from shore and scattered throughout the water column, and the coho fishing also didn’t follow its normal pattern of starting off strong in spring in Kenosha area waters and slowly moving northward, Eggold says.
“In the past, when chinook and coho numbers dropped, boaters went out 12 miles off shore to locate and catch steelhead,” he says. “This didn’t happen this year, most likely due to gas prices and consequently, the catch for steelhead are low as are the overall salmon and trout catch.”
Anglers who fish Lake Michigan tributaries were the only category of anglers tracked in the survey that actually spent more time chasing their quarry in 2008 than the previous year.
Wisconsin anglers pulled in more than 650,000 fish of all species from Lake Michigan, with decreases in harvests of brook, rainbow, brown and lake trout, as well as yellow perch, and chinook and coho salmon. Lake Michigan anglers harvested 256,796 chinook in 2008; that places it in the top 10 years of harvest but down from the phenomenal 431,143 the previous year. The fish were larger, a good sign that the reduction in chinook stocking instituted by Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan in 2006 is working to bring chinook numbers closer in line with the forage base to sustain good fishing into the future, Eggold says.
“Chinook stocking was reduced lake-wide by 25 percent in 2006 to balance the amount of forage per numbers of fish,” says Eggold. “Because of the salmon’s maturity schedule, we saw little or no effect on harvest in 2007. The fewer, but larger fish in 2008 could be a sign that the reductions are doing what we needed them to do.”
What can anglers expect for Lake Michigan fishing in 2009?
“Gas prices are half the price they were a year ago and provided the weather cooperates and prey base stays adequate, anglers should continue to see solid numbers of chinook and a bounce back in coho,” says Eggold.
Additional information on chinook fishing can be found on the DNR Web site, including a chart showing overall trout and salmon harvests, and harvests broken down by species, in addition to more information on chinook salmon; the best seasons for Lake Michigan year-round chinook shore fishing.
More information on Lake Michigan fisheries is also available on the DNR Web site. The Lake Michigan Hotline at (414) 382-7920 features up-to-date fishing reports and conditions.
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