DNR Fishing Report
Southeast
Lower Peninsula
Lake
Erie - Fishing continues to improve as the
waters clear up. Walleye were caught off Stony Point
by those trolling bottom bouncers or using mini disks
with spoons in 18 to 23 feet of water. Purple was the
hot color. The Banana Dike and Fermi Plant were also
good areas for walleye in 14 to 16 feet of water.
Detroit River - Walleye are hitting
on bottom bouncers with crawler harnesses or
Hot-n-Tots. White bass slowed in the lower river but
was good up near Wyandotte. Try shiners or jigs with
twister tails. Shore anglers caught a few yellow
perch but catch rates overall were spotty. Catfish
are hitting on green crawlers or shrimp and carp have
been caught on worms and corn.
Lexington - Success for lake trout,
pink salmon, and the occasional steelhead has picked
up for those trolling in 50 to 100 feet of water.
Good numbers of smallmouth bass were caught in the
harbor.
Harbor Beach - Fishing continues to
be very good with limits of lake trout taken when
using dodgers and spin glows right on the bottom.
Downriggers with spoons also caught fish. Best
results came from 80 to 105 feet of water. Hot colors
continue to be glow in the dark, pink with white
dots, silver, green, and black. Chinook, coho and
pink salmon are also being caught. For steelhead try
color lines with dodgers and spin glows, flies or
spoons in bright colors. Walleye are still being
caught off the north wall in the early morning or
late evening when casting small spoons or body baits.
Try perch, silver or green.
Port Austin - Boat anglers are
catching trout and salmon in 50 to 100 feet of water.
Some boats are heading west toward Caseville for
walleye.
Saginaw Bay - Those trolling for
walleye have done well. Most of the boating activity
has been out near the Spark Plug in 20 to 22 feet of
water or the Slot in 13 to 15 feet of water. Off Finn
Road, anglers are fishing in 3 to 8 feet of water or
deeper when the sun comes out. Most are relying on
crawler harnesses off planer boards, but some did
well with crank baits in deeper waters.
Tittabawasse River - Was providing
good catch and release smallmouth bass fishing up
near the Dow Dam. White bass have also started to
show up.
Click here for the entire Michigan DNR Fishing
Report: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364-34956--,00.html
Michigan DNR Fishing Report
Lake Erie - Boat anglers are catching a few walleye when trolling harnesses near the Fermi Power Plant and the Banana Dike. Good largemouth bass fishing near Pte. Mouillee.
Huron River - Has good large and smallmouth bass fishing for those looking to participate in the catch and immediate release fishing. Most are floating minnows under a bobber. No word on walleye however muskie and pike can be found in the backwaters. Crappie anglers will also want to check the backwaters.
Detroit River - Walleye are heading for the lake so the better fishing has been in the lower river around Humbug Island, Grosse Ile, Calf Island and Celeron Island. Most are trolling harnesses with minnows and crawlers or jigging minnows in 13 to 16 feet of water. Good colors were brown, green, purple and black. White bass are in and have been caught in the Trenton Channel near the Edison discharge. Good largemouth bass action around Celeron Island and Gibraltar.
Lake St. Clair - Anglers have done well when vertical jigging or trolling planer boards. Look for panfish in and around the marinas.
St. Clair River - Catch rates for walleye were fair when vertical jigging or trolling.
Lexington - Those out trolling in 20 to 40 feet of water with spoons or body baits have caught a mix of lake trout, chinook, coho, steelhead, pink salmon and the occasional brown trout.
Port Sanilac - Had the same report as Lexington with boats taking fish in 20 to 40 feet of water.
Harbor Beach - Lake trout fishing continues to be good straight out, north and south of the port. Use medium spoons or body baits off downriggers and offshore boards in 30 to 60 feet of water. Best colors have been blue, silver, purple, and yellow. A few salmon were caught. For steelhead, try bright colors off the boards. Brown trout were caught in shallow waters on small spoons or body baits.
Port Austin - Shore and pier anglers are catching and releasing smallmouth bass.
Saginaw Bay - Had good catches of walleye on the calmer days in 16 feet of water off Linwood, 8 to 20 feet of water off the Bay City State Park, around Spoils Island, and on the Callahan Reef. Crawler harnesses are the popular bait. Walleye fishing near Quanicassee was hit-or-miss. Not much activity at Sebewaing however the channel buoys are now in place. Those heading out from Bay Port caught a few walleye out in the Slot. Boat anglers from Caseville are heading south to the Slot or fishing around the buoy off the end of Sand Point.
Tittabawasse River - Walleye fishing here is just about done. A few fish still remain, but most have headed back out to the bay. Anglers are catching and releasing a lot of smallmouth bass, and the white bass runs are starting.
Saginaw River - Some walleye are still being caught in the lower river near the Karn-Weadok Power Plant. Fish were caught on jigs with crawlers. This location is a good alternative to fighting the wind out on the bay.
Quanicassee River - A few channel catfish were caught by shore anglers.
Click here for entire fishing report: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364-34956--,00.html
Invasive Species Workshop
Please feel free to share this invite with others who may be interested in this important topic. Thanks!
Marquette Workshop invite_04-30-2010
Request for Input - Revising AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia (Aquatic Species)
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has reconvened the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia and is in the process of revising its Euthanasia Guidelines. Members of the Panel's Aquatics Working Group are interested in receiving constructive comments regarding the AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia, available for inspection on the web at: http://www.avma.org/issues/animal_welfare/euthanasia.pdf.
The Aquatics Working Group (AWG) will be concentrating their efforts on fish and aquatic invertebrates and are interested in receiving constructive comments regarding these taxa.
Specifically, the AWG is interested in hearing about:
* which sections on the euthanasia of finfish and other aquatic species they believe are still appropriate and scientifically justified;
* which sections are not feasible or no longer justified;
* if any circumstances are not covered sufficiently; or,
* if there are any other issues that have not been resolved or discussed in the document.
Please provide the AWG with scientific or gray literature citations that are relevant and not presently incorporated into the existing document.
Send your e-mail suggestions to, and give your contact information in case we have questions.
Please put in the email subject line: "Euthanasia comments".
Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Roy P. E. Yanong, VMD
Chair, AVMA Panel on Euthanasia, AWG
rpy@ufl.edu
Farmed fish may pose risk for mad cow disease
Source: SeaFood Intelligence 6/17/2009 - http://tinyurl.com/n32kqw.
A neurologist from the University of Louisville (Kentucky), Robert P. Friedland, questions the safety of eating farmed fish in the latest issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease adding a new worry to concerns about the US food supply.
Friedland and his co-authors suggest farmed fish could transmit Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (CJD) - the "mad cow" disease - if they are fed byproducts rendered from cows. The scientists urge government regulators to ban feeding cow meat or bone meal to fish until the safety of this common practice can be confirmed.
"We have not proven that it's possible for fish to transmit the disease to humans. Still, we believe that out of reasonable caution for public health, the practice of feeding rendered cows to fish should be prohibited," Friedland said. "Fish do very well in the seas without eating cows," he added.
The authors argue that it may be possible for a disease to be spread by eating a carrier that is not infected itself. 'It's also possible that eating diseased cow parts could cause fish to experience a pathological change that allows the infection to be passed between the two species.'
The study will likely cause uproar in the global aquaculture industry - with cries against 'fear mongering' - while playing in the hands of the various lobbies opposed to fish farming on various grounds. It must also be stressed that all fish are not born equal when it comes to the quality of the feed; this varies with species, countries and individual companies. Furthermore, it is not the 1st time a link between human diseases & fish farming has been hinted at.
A 1988 article in the prestigious Nature was entitled: "Fish farming and influenza pandemics"; and the topic resurfaced with the 2006 Asian bird flu crisis. In 2002, advisers to the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) proposed (this was not retained) that farmed fish be checked for BSE-like diseases; as virtually no research has been carried in that area.
[The JAD, 17(2):277-279 Short Communication is accessible from http://iospress.metapress.com/content/105656/. The abstract is below. ADS-Mod.]
Fress Fishing Weekend

Two days twice a year, families and
friends can enjoy one of Michigan's premiere outdoor
activities, Michigan Fishing,
for FREE!
All fishing license fees will be
waived for two days. Residents and outstate visitors
may enjoy fishing on both inland and Great Lakes'
waters for all species of fish. All fishing
regulations will still apply.
For many, the annual Free Fishing Weekend has become
a tradition - a time to get together and have some
fishing fun. While some may find time to reflect
while fishing, there are no limits to variations on a
great theme!
Michigan offers some of the finest freshwater fishing
in the world, with more than 3,000 miles of Great
Lakes shoreline, over 11,037 inland lakes and 36,350
miles of rivers and streams. Included are 12,000
miles of trout waters, for which approximately 1,000
miles are considered Michigan's finest blue ribbon
trout mainstreams.
So grab a pole and your family and friends, and let's
go fishing!
Source: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364_52261_50497---,00.html
DNR investigates fish kill in Lake St. Clair
Jim Lynch / The Detroit News
State wildlife experts want to know why thousands of dead fish are floating on Lake St. Clair near St. Clair Shores.
Rotting fish, including smallmouth bass, muskie, walleye, perch and bass, are littering boat wells and shorelines across several miles.
"It was just unbelievable," said Adam Jankowski, a Harrison Township resident who usually puts his boat in the water at St. Clair Shores. "Thursday and Friday, my wife and I were on the boat coasting south from 11 Mile Road to Seven Mile Road. We saw fish after fish after fish -- all dead."
Officials with Michigan's Department of Natural Resources began receiving complaints about a fish kill last week, but answers remain a long way off. Biologists removed fish -- both live and dead -- from Lake St. Clair and sent them on to a laboratory in Lansing for testing.
However, many of the dead fish were already so decomposed that they may yield nothing to investigators. The live fish taken in showed no outward signs of disease, said Bob Haas, a DNR fish research biologist. Results from the samples taken won't be available for six to eight weeks.
Click here for the entire article:
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090609/METRO/906090346/DNR-investigates-fish-kill-in-Lake-St.-Clair
Free Fishing Weekend
Summer:
June 13 - 14, 2009
Two days twice a year,
families and friends can enjoy one of Michigan's
premiere outdoor activities, Michigan
Fishing, for FREE!
All fishing license fees will be waived for two days.
Residents and outstate visitors may enjoy fishing on
both inland and Great Lakes' waters for all species
of fish. All fishing regulations will still apply.
Free Fishing Weekend Events
For many, the annual Free Fishing Weekend has become
a tradition - a time to get together and have some
fishing fun. While some may find time to reflect
while fishing, there are no limits to variations on a
great theme! Michigan offers some of the finest
freshwater fishing in the world, with more than 3,000
miles of Great Lakes shoreline, over 11,037 inland
lakes and 36,350 miles of rivers and streams.
Included are 12,000 miles of trout waters, for which
approximately 1,000 miles are considered Michigan's
finest blue ribbon trout mainstreams.
So grab a pole and your family and friends, and let's
go fishing!
Pass
on the Fishing Tradition
Experienced anglers who offer a child or young adult
the chance to take their first fishing trip can
provide a rewarding experience for all. People who
fish tend to understand the natural aquatic network
of plants and animals that help to sustain fish.
A day spent fishing can offer the opportunity for one
generation to pass on their experience with a new
generation of anglers.
Research shows that young people today do not have
access to fishing opportunities that once enjoyed.
Some of the reasons: living in urban or suburban
areas where fishing access is not readily available,
competition for time by an ever-increasing schedule
of special activies, and too little time for
unstructured leisure.
Taking "time out" by fishing can be a great way to
offset some of the many challenges and stresses that
we all seem to be faced with today. Sometimes just
being some where away from the fast pace of life -
even if just for a few hours - can provide a new
perspective and a fresh outlook.
Have
a Great Time With Friends and Family -- Plan Your Own
Special Fishing Trip!
For many, the annual Free Fishing Weekend has become
a tradition - a time to get together and have some
fishing fun. While some may find time to reflect
while fishing, there are no limits to variations on a
great theme! Many have found this special weekend to
be a good time for a reunion with friends and family
with fishing and fun a great combination for all!
Source: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364-43225--,00.html
DNR Fishing Report
Huron River - Those fishing around the coffer dam are still taking steelhead.
Detroit River - Boat anglers are taking walleye when jigging or handlining up near Gibraltar and the Edison Plant. Orange has been a good color. Those fishing the cuts, canals, and marinas are finding perch.
St. Clair River - A good variety of fish including steelhead, whitefish, coho, walleye, and suckers were caught in the upper river near Port Huron.
Lexington - Lots of perch have been caught inside the harbor but many are small. Keepers are running 7 to 9 inches. Coho and steelhead were also caught on minnows, crawlers and body baits. Boats are trolling planer boards with body baits in 8 to 18 feet of water and taking coho, steelhead, walleye and a few chinook salmon.
Saginaw Bay - Boat anglers fishing out around the commercial nets were getting some nice catches of perch. Shore anglers are catching small perch from the cut at the end of Palmer Road and off the docks at the Linwood Marina. Boat anglers fishing off the mouth of the Saginaw River had mixed results. Fishing here should pick up in the coming weeks as post-spawn walleye drop back down the Saginaw River system and re-enter the bay. The Hot Ponds were muddy so only a couple catfish were caught. Not much to report at Bay Shore Marina near Bay Port however keep an eye on this spot for perch and crappie.
Saginaw River - Slow perch fishing in the marina basins, and canals.
Quanicassee River - High muddy water made for slow fishing.
Sebewaing River - Lots of small perch are being caught in the river and the marina.
Pigeon River - The water is high and muddy. A few small perch were caught.
Emerald Shiner Article
DNR Shooting Ranges Help Hunters Prepare for Fall Hunting Seasons

Sept. 25, 2008
With the advent of the fall hunting seasons, and as the firearm deer season draws near, now is the time for hunters to sight in their bows, rifles and shotguns at one of the Department of Natural Resources' staff-operated shooting ranges.
The DNR oversees six shooting ranges in southern Michigan, including the Rose Lake Shooting Range in Bath (Clinton County); Sharonville Shooting Range in Grass Lake (Jackson County); Island Lake Shooting Range in Brighton (Livingston County); Ortonville Shooting Range in Ortonville (Lapeer County); Bald Mountain Shooting Range in Lake Orion (Oakland County) and Pontiac Lake Shooting Range in Waterford (Oakland County). An archery range is not available at Island Lake or Ortonville. Click here for hours and locations.
During October, the ranges are open six days a week, closed Tuesdays. From Nov. 1-15, the ranges are open daily.
Hours at the Bald Mountain, Pontiac Lake and Ortonville ranges are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Rose Lake and Sharonville ranges.
Range fees at Bald Mountain, Pontiac Lake and Ortonville are $4 per day for each shooter age 16 and older. Children under 16 are free. Rose Lake and Sharonville have no fee. The Island Lake Shooting Range is operated under contact by Michigan Shooting Centers, LCC. Please contact Island Lake for hours and fees at (248) 437-2784.
For more information on DNR-operated shooting ranges, please call the ranges. The telephone numbers are:
• Bald Mountain - (248) 693-0567
• Island Lake - (248) 437-2784
• Ortonville - (248) 627-5569
• Pontiac Lake - (248) 666-5406
• Rose Lake - (517) 641-7801
• Sharonville - (734) 428-8035
Information about the DNR shooting ranges, and other public and private shooting ranges, can be found on the DNR Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnr under Law Enforcement, and then click on Shooting Ranges on the menu on the left side of the page.
Shooters are reminded to bring eye and ear protection and approved paper targets with either a bull's-eye pattern or a depiction of legal game. Shooters under age 16 must be supervised by an adult.
All motor vehicles entering a state park or recreation area must display a Motor Vehicle Permit, available for purchase at the park entrance. Cost is $24 for a resident annual and $6 for a resident daily. A nonresident annual is $29 and a nonresident daily is $8.
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10371_10402-200674--,00.html
Michigan's First Case of Chronic Wasting Disease Detected at Kent County Deer Breeding Facility

Contact: Bridget Patrick (MDA) or Mary Dettloff (DNR) 517-241-2669 or 517-335-3014
Agency: Natural Resources
August 25, 2008
LANSING - The Michigan departments of Agriculture (MDA) and Natural Resources (DNR) today confirmed the state's first case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a three-year old white-tailed deer from a privately owned cervid (POC) facility in Kent County.
The state has quarantined all POC facilities, prohibiting the movement of all - dead or alive - privately-owned deer, elk or moose. Officials do not yet know how the deer may have contracted the disease. To date, there is no evidence that CWD presents a risk to humans.
DNR and MDA staff are currently reviewing records from the Kent County facility and five others to trace deer that have been purchased, sold or moved by the owners in the last five years for deer and the last seven years for elk. Any deer that may have come in contact with the CWD-positive herd have been traced to their current location and those facilities have been quarantined.
"Michigan's veterinarians and wildlife experts have been working throughout the weekend to complete their investigation," said Don Koivisto, MDA director. "We take this disease very seriously, and are using every resource available to us to implement response measures and stop the spread of this disease."
CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects deer, elk and moose. Most cases of the disease have been in western states, but in the past several years, it has spread to some midwestern and eastern states. Infected animals display abnormal behaviors, progressive weight loss and physical debilitation.
Current evidence suggests that the disease is transmitted through infectious, self-multiplying proteins (prions) contained in saliva and other fluids of infected animals. Susceptible animals can acquire CWD by direct exposure to these fluids or also from contaminated environments. Once contaminated, research suggests that soil can remain a source of infection for long periods of time, making CWD a particularly difficult disease to eradicate.
Michigan's First Case of Chronic Wasting Disease Detected at Kent County Deer Breeding Facility: "Currently, one of our top concerns is to confirm that the disease is not in free-ranging deer," said DNR Director Rebecca Humphries. "We are asking hunters this fall to assist us by visiting check stations to allow us to take biological samples from the deer they harvest, so we can perform adequate surveillance of the free-ranging white-tailed deer herd in the area."
Deer hunters this fall who take deer from Tyrone, Solon, Nelson, Sparta, Algoma, Courtland, Alpine, Plainfield, and Cannon townships will be required to bring their deer to a DNR check station. Deer taken in these townships are subject to mandatory deer check.
The DNR is also asking hunters who are participating in the private land five-day antlerless hunt in September in other parts of Kent County to visit DNR check stations in Kent County so further biological samples can be taken from free-ranging deer for testing. The DNR is in the process of finding additional locations for check stations in Kent County to make it more convenient for hunters.
The deer that tested positive at the Kent County facility was a doe that had been recently culled by the owner of the facility. Michigan law requires sick deer or culled deer on a POC facility be tested for disease. The samples from the Kent County deer tested "suspect positive" last week at Michigan State University Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health, and were sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa last Thursday for confirmatory testing. The positive results of those tests were communicated to the state of Michigan today.
Audits of the facility by the DNR in 2004 and 2007 showed no escapes of animals from the Kent County facility were reported by the owner. Also, there were no violations of regulations recorded during the audits.
Since 2002, the DNR has tested 248 wild deer in Kent County for CWD. In summer 2005, a number of those deer had displayed neurological symptoms similar to CWD; however, after testing it was determined the deer had contracted Eastern Equine Encephalitis.
More information on CWD is available on Michigan's Emerging Diseases Web site at
www.michigan.gov/chronicwastingdisease.
At discussion about this matter can be found at
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=248252.
The DNR Wants Your Input!
Calkins Bridge Dam on the Kalamazoo River: Press Release
Black Bear Management Plan: Press Release
Salmon Bag Limits: Press Release Frequently Asked Questions
Fishing Line Increase: Press Release Frequently Asked Questions
NLP/SLP Regional State Forest Management Plan: Northern Lower Peninsula Ecoregion
WUP Regional State Forest Management Plan: Western Upper Peninsula Ecoregion
Source: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153--191030--,00.html
State officials to meet over June fish kill

Gary Heinlein / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
LANSING -- Department of Natural Resources officials will meet this week with the Attorney General's Office over a fish kill on the Pigeon River caused by a massive release of sediment from an impoundment on a private ranch near Vanderbilt.
The release occurred the night of June 22, when a gate was opened on a dam at Song of the Morning Ranch, a private yoga center, DNR officials said.
Within three days, an array of stream fish that included chubs, white suckers, shiners, 62 brown trout, 25 brook trout and three rainbow trout had been killed by black sediments that flowed down the river. Forty of the brown trout were more than a foot long, said DNR spokeswoman Mary Dettloff.
"The sediment gets into their gills and basically suffocates them," Dettloff said.
DNR Fisheries Division Chief Kelly Smith said that since then, DNR investigators have performed a "full river assessment" to gather data about the amount of sediment released and the number of fish that were killed.
He said the agency is putting together the numbers now to determine how the incident compares to a 1984 fish kill when the same dam was opened at the same ranch.
In that incident, tons of silt swept down the river when the dam's gates were opened for cleaning.
Click here for entire article:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080728/METRO/807280370/1409/METRO
DNR Go - Get Outdoors

GO Events Listing: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10365_36576---,00.html
DNR Recreational Fishing Report

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
DNR Fishing Report

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
The DNR Wants Your Input

Use this link to read the press releases, Frequently Asked Questions and submit your comment.
Proposal to Review the Daily Bag Limit for Salmon

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/SalmonDailyBagLimitFAQ_232622_7.pdf
2008 Fishing Guide and Trout and Salmon Guide

|
2008 Fishing Guide
2008 Trout and Salmon Guide |

