Hammond Bay Area Anglers
Association’s 26th annual Banquet
Saturday April 24, 2010
The Hammond Bay Area Anglers Association’s 26th
annual Banquet will take place Saturday April 24, 2010 at the
Rogers City Senior Center. The Association continues to be an
effective voice for Northeast Michigan on both inland and Great
Lakes fishing issues. We would like to update you on four new
Lake Huron projects that are being implemented by the Department
of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) to improve the
fisheries and cope with the dramatically changing ecosystem.
The Hammond Bay Area Anglers Association has participated in
discussions with DNRE and has provided much input into the
following experiments:
Brown Trout
The survival of brown trout has declined greatly since 2004,
which coincided with a steep decline of smelt and alewife.
During this period, research showed that planted brown trout
stood out because there were few smelt or alewife to hide or
buffer them from the predators such as lake trout and walleye.
It was decided to plant fewer fish but to raise them to a much
larger size and stock them in the fall when the birds and larger
fish were not available to eat the newly planted trout. The
fish that have been planted in past during the spring were about
¼ of a pound in weight and about 7 to 8 inches in length. This
fall Rogers City and five other test location received stockings
of the larger fish that average 12 inches in length and each
weighed approximately one pound. There are early indications
that this fish have survived the winter and are already
producing a sport fishery. This project will continue for three
years and if the work is successful the program will be
expanded.
Steelhead Trout
Steelhead are becoming very popular because anglers have been
learning how to catch more of them by fishing very close to the
water surface where the fish feed. A diet study conducted last
season in Lake Huron showed that steelhead feed primarily on
terrestrial insects and can survive without eating much bait
fish like smelt and alewife which are currently low in numbers.
Because steelhead are adapting well to the changes in the Lake
more emphasis is being placed on raising them and increasing
their survival. Research in Lake Ontario has shown that placing
the steelhead in pens for a few days at the stocking site before
release increases survival. To improve this technique tagged
fish will be stocked at three locations and half will be planted
directly into the Lake and half will be placed in the pens
before stocking. The pen and direct stocked fish will each have
unique tags so that the effects of the pens can be determined.
If survival of the penned fish is significantly increased then
this technique will be expanded along the Lake.
Atlantic Salmon
Atlantic salmon are planted in small numbers in northern Lake
Huron but are surviving much better than any other stocked
salmon or trout. The drawback to planting more of these
successful fish is the DNRE needs to refine its hatchery
techniques and determine if large numbers of fish can be raised
so they could be stocked throughout the Lake. In the past,
Atlantic salmon were notoriously difficult to culture in
hatcheries but many improvements have been made to cope with
these problems. Currently all the Atlantic salmon used for
planting in Lake Huron are raised at Lake Superior State
University (LSSU). The DNRE began a project with LSSU last fall
to expand the program in Lake Huron and if the research is
successful Atlantic salmon could become common at many ports
along the Lake.
Cisco
Before European Settlers arrived, cisco was the most abundant
baitfish in the Great Lakes. It was heavily consumed by lake
trout, walleye, burbot and other predators. Not only was cisco
an important food for other fishes but it was also popular with
commercial fishers. Lamprey and overfishing have reduced cisco
to very low numbers in Lake Huron and the DNRE and Federal
Agencies have expressed a strong interest in stocking them for a
limited period to assist in expanding their numbers and
increasing natural reproduction. They may not only become an
important baitfish but they also could provide many new sport
fishing opportunities. The DNRE has been developing techniques
to raise large numbers in their hatcheries and it is anticipated
that that the current plant of 40,000 fish can be expanded to
750,000 within a few years.
Featured Speaker
The featured speaker at the banquet will be discussing the
results of an ongoing diet study in Lake Huron that is
documenting the feeding habits of the large predators including
trout, salmon and walleye. This research is showing surprising
information about how fish are adapting to the quickly changing
conditions in the lake’s food web and the results will help
biologists better manage the Lake.
Tickets to the banquet will be limited and if you are
interested in attending please obtain them early. More
information on the banquet may be found on the Anglers website
at
http://hbanglers.com/ or you may contact one of the Board
members below.
Matt
Peters............... (989) 938-6499 Dave
Bock................ (989) 734-0760
William Karsten........ (989)
733-4118 Frank Krist ............... (989) 734-3100
Jack Lyon.................. (989)
733-6303 Joe Signorelli............ (989) 734-0307
Dave Smrchek.......... (989)
734-4392 Bruce Grant.............. (989) 734-7233
Rick Colonna............ (989)
733-5443