Michigan's Free Fishing Weekends are two special days when all fishing license fees will be waived for residents and outstate visitors alike on both inland and Great Lakes waters. All fishing regulations will still apply.

Free Fishing Weekend events are sponsored by many communities, businesses, and conservation and fishing clubs. Click here, for a list of Michigan Free Fishing Weekend events.

National Boating and Fishing Week is June 1-8, 2008. Look on the "Take Me Fishing" website at www.takemefishing.org for additional activities not only in Michigan, but other states as well.

This spring brought the usual plaintive e-mails and telephone calls from readers asking if anyone knew where smelt were running. And the answer was the same as it has been for 10 years -- no one has seen any, and if you find some, please let the rest of us know.

It turned out that one exception was the northern Lake Huron coastline along the Canadian shore and the adjacent St. Marys River, where dippers enjoyed some excellent smelt runs.

That raised hopes that the silvery little fish might be making a comeback and provide spring sport for people and food for Lake Huron salmon whose numbers have been decimated by the disappearance of alewives.

Jeffrey Schaeffer, a research biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center in Ann Arbor, has a different theory and says anglers shouldn't get their hopes up...

Click here for the entire article:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/SPORTS10/805150408

The bait store is now open from 5:00 am to 6:00 pm.

This coming Saturday May 24th is the opening day of bass season on the Great Lakes and all the inland waters except Lake St. Clair, St. Clair River and the Detroit River which do not open until the 3rd Saturday in June. The early catch and release season has been very good so the opener this weekend should also be good especially if the weather warms up and stays that way.


Lake Erie - Fishing has been hit-or-miss. Walleye were caught in 10 to 15 feet of water in Brest Bay. Drifting produced the best catches but those trolling crank baits or plugs also caught fish. Most boats were taking an average of two fish per trip. White bass were still hitting this week and large numbers were caught in Brest Bay. Water temperatures were 55 degrees at the surface and the clarity was improving.

Huron River - A couple steelhead were caught on minnows near the rocks just down from the dam at Flat Rock. White bass have been caught on minnows or crayfish.

Detroit River - Walleye angling has slowed but most boats are still catching a few. The white bass fishing is on fire! Most of the fish are 11 to 13 inches long and are great fighters. Many are being taken by shore anglers, but boat anglers are also doing well when fishing about any place where the water is less than 32 feet deep. Jigs and plastic worms, real worms or minnows are all working well.

Lake St. Clair - Walleye fishing is still on the slow side off Metro Beach, but a few more fish were caught in the south end of the lake.

Click here for the entire DNR fishing report:
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364-34956--,00.html

This year consider planting plants native to your area when landscaping or gardening. Native plants are defined as plants that existed in an area prior to European settlement. The use of native plants has numerous benefits due to having evolved over thousands of years and, as such, are adapted to local conditions. The benefits include:

• They flourish without fertilizers or synthetic pesticides and rarely need watering.
• They provide food and habitat for wildlife which continues to disappear due to development
• They contribute to biodiversity
• They keep our regions unique and help us to maintain plant species
• Their root systems rebuild the soil and work as filtering systems.
• Last but not least they are beautiful!

Click here for the entire article:
http://www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/shopping/consider-planting-michigan-native-plants/

May 16, 2008 - 9:35PM

The world's wildlife populations have reduced by around a quarter since the 1970s, according to a major report published Friday by the WWF conservation organisation.

Marine species have been particularly hard hit as the human population booms, while numbers of birds and, fish and animals have also gone down, said the WWF in a report.

The study comes ahead of next week's UN convention on biological diversity in the former West German capital Bonn, which will discuss aims to achieve a "significant reduction" in the current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.

The WWF, the world's largest independent conservation body, said it was "very unlikely" that the UN would meet its targets, despite the decline appearing to flatten off in recent years.

The WWF's Living Planet Index, which tracks the fortunes of nearly 4,000 populations of 1,477 vertebrate species from 1970 to 2005, showed an overall decline of 27 percent.

Over-fishing and hunting, along with farming, pollution and urban expansion, were blamed.

Click here for the entire article:
http://news.theage.com.au/world/wildlife-numbers-plummet-globally-wwf-20080516-2f6o.html

Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake Erie - Is very muddy and water temperatures have dropped into the 50 degree range. Walleye fishing was best between Stony Point and the Fermi Power Plant. Bottom bouncers were producing fish for those trolling or drifting. Good numbers of white bass are hitting on pretty much anything. Good catfish action continues near Consumers Hot Ponds.

Huron River - They are still getting some steelhead by the dams. Anglers fishing down from the walk bridge on the park side of the river were getting white bass and crappie on minnows. Walleye are hitting on Hot-n-Tots or crawlers.

Detroit River - Walleye are being caught in the lower Trenton Channel, near Wyandotte, and around Mud Island. Anglers are drifting Erie Dearies or trolling reef runners in 10 feet of water.

Lexington - Boats trolling in 15 to 40 feet of water caught trout and salmon on body baits or spoons. Pier anglers have caught small perch.

Click here for the entire fishing report:
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364-34956--,00.html

Thursday, May 15, 2008
Gary Heinlein / Detroit News Lansing Bureau

LANSING -- Without a single dissenting vote, the state Senate and House voted Wednesday to include Michigan in a historic international compact designed to reserve all of the water in the Great Lakes for the eight states and two Canadian provinces surrounding them.

That doesn't quite cement Michigan's participation in the Great Lakes agreement, however, because the compact is linked to a series of additional House and Senate bills to regulate water usage within the state. There's still disagreement over House and Senate versions of those proposed rules.

"We're taking the first important step forward and we'll continue to negotiate the items of disagreement," said Rep. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, the House point-person on the proposed water rules. "Being able to move the process forward proves that we're serious about this and able to get it done. If nothing else, it signals to the folks who are heavily invested in this that the time to come together and get an agreement is now."

Click here for the entire article:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/METRO/805150385

Detroit FREE PRESS EDITORIAL

After 20 years of coping with zebra mussels, no comprehensive strategy is yet in place to deter the ongoing threat to the Great Lakes
MAY 11, 2008


That may be the truest -- and cruelest -- elegy delivered as the Great Lakes mark the 20th anniversary of the discovery of zebra mussels on June 1, 1988, in Lake St. Clair. It comes from Carol Stepien, a University of Toledo researcher who studies gobies -- another notorious invader -- and who has found at least 18 more goby varieties in Europe that would probably love to call the Great Lakes home.

Freshwater species that originated in tributaries around the Black and Caspian Seas seem to adore the Great Lakes, and various Eurasian species had been showing up since the St. Lawrence Seaway opened to foreign ships in 1959. But most were microscopic plants and animals.

Zebra mussels showed how readily a bigger invader could not just survive, but thrive, threatening to wipe out some native species and alter the food web so drastically that even big lake fish no longer had enough food. It was not the first, it may not even be the worst, but it surely is the poster child for a problem that no one has yet had the will to address.

Click here for the entire article:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200805110300/OPINION01/805110527

Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake Erie - Catch rates remain fair with the cooler temperatures. Anglers had mild success for walleye near the Fermi Power Plant and Stony Point when slow trolling with bottom bouncers. The Dumping Grounds near Bolles Harbor were also producing a few fish. Those fishing the lake side of the Banana Dike caught walleye in 10 feet of water. Large numbers of white bass are hitting on live bait. The catch and release bass action has been good near the shoreline and in the channel off Bolles Harbor.

Huron River - There are still light numbers of steelhead below the dam. Walleye fishing has picked up and the smallmouth bass bite has been good. The river has a lot of carp and suckers.

Detroit River - Has good walleye action along the entire river when using jigs with minnows or crank baits in the early morning or late at night. Perch have been caught around Stony Island but watch out for the rocks. Most are using perch rigs with shiners. The white bass are just starting to come in.

Lake St. Clair - Some walleye were caught when jigging or handlining but the action is slow. Better weather will bring better fishing.

Lexington - Boats trolling in 15 to 25 feet of water have caught coho, lake trout steelhead and brown trout with a few chinook and walleye mixed in. Bombers and rapalas were the ticket. Pier anglers have caught small perch.


Click here for the entire fishing report:
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364_10848-34956--,00.html

President George W. Bush has threatened to veto a House-passed bill that would make saltwater ships install systems that kill all living organisms in their tanks before dumping ballast in U.S. waters, including the Great Lakes.

There's no question this administration has one of the worst environmental records in history, drawing fire from conservative hunting and fishing groups as well as the usual ecological lefties, and that the bill the president threatens to veto is no more than a step in the right direction.

Yet anyone who fishes or goes boating in Michigan should contact both of our senators and tell them that the Senate needs to adopt the House bill quickly and send it to the White House with a veto-proof majority, because if nothing else, it's a start...

Click here for the entire article:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080504/SPORTS10/805040648

The DNR is seeking input on two fishing issues: Increase in Lines Allowed for Fishing and Salmon Daily Bag Limits. The DNR is committed to providing consistent opportunity for anglers and continuing its efforts to simplify regulations. Neither proposal will have any negative biological impact on the state's fishery resources. They address social issues and perspectives on ways anglers may prefer to enjoy their fishing activities.
Use this link to read the press releases, Frequently Asked Questions and submit your comment.