Chinook catch differs between lakes

[Spiel]

Chinook catch differs between lakes

 

 

Friday, March 14, 2008

Howard Meyerson; Press Outdoors Editor / mlive.com

 

 

After hitting the bottom in 2005, the Lake Huron Chinook salmon fishery is showing a bit of recovery. Meanwhile, the Lake Michigan salmon fishery is at its peak, according to state fisheries officials.

 

"The Chinook catch in Lake Huron has been increasing very slightly over the last two years," said Donna Wesander, with the DNR's Great Lakes Fishery Research Center in Charlevoix. Wesander recently presented charter catch data to a roomful of captains in Grand Haven.

 

"The fish appear to be looking a little healthier," she said. "In Lake Michigan, we are at the peak. The numbers have been steadily increasing over the last six to seven years."

 

Chinook catch rates, or the number caught by charter anglers in an hour, inched up to .08 per angler hour on Lake Huron in 2007. They hit .294 per angler hour on Lake Michigan.

 

"The Lake Michigan charter catch is the best it ever has been," said Dave Clapp, the head of the Charlevoix research station.

 

Lake Michigan anglers caught 84,600 Chinook salmon in 2007, the best year since 1993 which was the bottom of a Chinook salmon crash due to Bacterial Kidney disease.

 

Anglers caught more fish on every excursion, though the big salmon were smaller than in the past. There were few 20-pounders. Thirty-pounders are virtually unheard of now.

 

The top port for big kings was Ludington, followed by Grand Haven, Manistee and Frankfort. Coho salmon catches were best at Ludington, St. Joseph, Grand Haven and Manistee.

 

The ports with the highest number of salmon and trout combined/per excursion were Pentwater followed by Michigan City, Saugatuck and Ludington.

 

"They were getting 14 fish per excursion at Pentwater," Wesander said.

 

On Lake Huron, it was lake trout that filled most of the coolers. Grindstone City proved the top port for trout and salmon.

 

"They caught 2088 fish in 184 excursions," said Wesander. "Most of these (1987) were lake trout."

 

"The problem on Lake Huron is the lack of forage," said Clapp. "Salmon survival has been poor mainly from a lack of forage. But we still see a good Lake Huron fishery for lake trout and walleye."

 

Some have called what happened on Lake Huron the perfect storm. Factors converged to make it tough for young fish to survive. No one knows for certain why the alewife population disappeared.

 

But catch rates don't lie. On Lake Huron they peaked at .2 per hour on in 1997, bounced up and down until 2002 and began a three-year slide to the lowest point in 15 years.