FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 24, 2012

Contact: Jay Wesley, 269-685-6851 or Ed Golder, 517-335-3014

Fisheries Division Releases 2012-2013 Management Updates for Waters in Southwest Michigan

The Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit is announcing fishery management actions and activities for the 2012-2013 angling season. These actions and activities include fish stocking, habitat rehabilitation projects, creel census, fish community surveys and angler access programs.

“These management updates are provided as a means to notify anglers and the public of changes in management and to make lake and stream property owners aware of our survey activities,” said Jay Wesley, Southern Lake Michigan Unit Manager in Plainwell. “We also value and encourage public input regarding our management actions and activities.”

For more information, contact Jay Wesley at 269-685-6851 or at the Plainwell Operation Service Center, Plainwell, MI 49080.

The Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit covers the Grand, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Galien river watersheds and all the lakes and streams within that area. Each year, fisheries biologists and technicians evaluate management options on various water bodies in order to achieve increased fishery benefits. Fish-stocking actions are reviewed at least every six years based on fish community or creel surveys. Counties with specific management actions and waters that are planned for surveys in 2012 are listed below. Anglers are asked to provide feedback on specific management options.

Allegan County
The Kalamazoo River will be sampled in April to determine the presence of spawning lake sturgeon as part of a long-term population rehabilitation effort. Available sturgeon eggs and larvae will be collected and raised in a streamside rearing facility in New Richmond. Pike Lake and Lake Sixteen will be removed from the Type C trout lake regulations since management of rainbow trout in both lakes has been discontinued. The Duck Lake Drain fish community will be surveyed as part of a random stream status and trends program. Excellent walleye, catfish, steelhead and Chinook fishing is available along the shore of the Kalamazoo River below Allegan Dam through the Allegan State Game Area.

Barry County
Rainbow trout will be stocked in Deep Lake in the Yankee Springs Recreation Area. Walleye will continue to be stocked in Thornapple Lake, and the DNR will begin stocking the Great Lakes strain of muskellunge to establish future broodstock in Thornapple Lake. A fish community survey will be conducted on Baker Lake. The Morgan Dam is scheduled for removal on Highbanks Creek, and floodplain restoration work will begin on Quaker Brook. There are excellent shore fishing opportunities in the Yankee Springs Recreation Area at Gun Lake State Park, Deep Lake Campground and Hall Lake.

Berrien County
Blue Jay Creek in the Galien River watershed will be removed from the designated trout stream list due to a lack of trout. The Paw Paw River will continue to be stocked annually with yearling steelhead and with fall fingerling steelhead and coho salmon when available. A creel survey will be conducted to evaluate Lake Michigan effort and harvest at the Port of St. Joseph/Benton Harbor. Fisheries surveys will be completed at several sites on the St. Joseph River as part of a multi-year walleye population evaluation. Good fishing opportunities are available along the St. Joseph River for walleye, steelhead, salmon, catfish and smallmouth bass in Berrien Springs, Buchanan and Niles.

Branch County
Fisheries surveys are planned for Cary, Craig and Morrison lakes. Matteson Lake will continue to be stocked with walleye, and Lake Lavine will continue to receive rainbow trout. Fisheries Division will be partnering with local anglers and the Union Lake Association to raise walleye in a local pond for stocking in Union Lake.

Calhoun County
A fisheries survey will be conducted on Nottawa Creek. Natural resource damage assessments associated with the oil spill will continue on the Kalamazoo River and Talmadge Creek. A rock ramp will be constructed on the Garfield Lake outlet control structure to provide better fish passage. Walleye are planned to be stocked in Duck Lake. Brown trout will continue to be stocked in Dickinson Creek at the Historic Bridge County Park.

Cass County
Rainbow trout stocking will continue in Birch Lake, and walleye will be stocked in Magician Lake. Dowagiac River shore and wading opportunities for brown trout are available at Dodd County Park.

Clinton County
A fish community survey is scheduled for Peet Creek and the Maple River. There are great shore fishing opportunities on Lake Ovid in the Sleepy Hollow Recreation Area.

Eaton County
Lakes Interstate and Delta will continue to be stocked with channel catfish, and they provide great shore fishing opportunities for bluegill and largemouth bass. The Grand River offers fishing opportunities for walleye, suckers, smallmouth bass, steelhead and coho salmon in Delta Mills and Grand Ledge.

Ingham County
The majority of the coho salmon stocked in the Grand River in Lansing are proposed to be moved downstream to improve survival. A public meeting will be conducted during the summer of 2012. The Grand River offers fishing opportunities for walleye, suckers, smallmouth bass, steelhead and coho salmon in the City of Lansing at the North Lansing and Morse dams.

Ionia County
A fish community survey will be conducted on the Maple River. Steelhead will continue to be stocked in Prairie and Fish creeks, and the brown trout strain will change from Wild Rose to Gilchrist Creek in Fish Creek. Shore fishing opportunities are available along Sessions Lake in the Ionia Recreation Area. Good angling opportunities are available along the Grand River in Portland, Lyons and Ionia for catfish, suckers, walleye, steelhead and coho salmon.

Jackson County
Fishing opportunities are available on Portage Lake in the Waterloo Recreation Area.

Kalamazoo County
Natural resource damages associated with the Kalamazoo River oil spill will continue to be assessed. Portage Creek will be surveyed to assess stream habitat improvements near Alcott Street. Muskellunge stocking will resume in Austin Lake. Fishing in the parks opportunities are available on Eagle, Whitford and Jackson lakes in the Fort Custer Recreation Area.

Kent County
Spring Brook, Flat River and Bear Creek will be surveyed as part of a status and trends program. The Flat River and Rogue River will continue to be stocked with steelhead. Muskellunge will be stocked in Murray Lake. Brown trout stocking will be discontinued in Buck Creek due to lack of survival and angler effort. Grand River shore access is excellent in the City of Grand Rapids for sucker, walleye, steelhead, Chinook salmon and coho salmon fishing.

Montcalm County
Clifford Lake will no longer be stocked with spring fingerling walleye due to poor survival.

Muskegon County
Mona Lake will be stocked with walleye.

Ottawa County
Crockery Creek will continue to be stocked with steelhead. Walleye will continue to be stocked in Lake Macatawa and the Grand River. The Great Lakes strain of muskellunge will be stocked when available in Lake Macatawa and the lower Grand River to take advantage of over-abundant gizzard shad and to provide a sport fishery. Fishing in the park opportunities are available along Lake Macatawa and the Holland Pier in the Holland State Park and beach areas. A creel survey will be conducted at the Port of Grand Haven.

St. Joseph County
Fish community surveys are scheduled for Lake Templene and the Pigeon River. Spring Creek will be removed from the designated trout streams list and Type 4 trout regulations due to a lack of trout.

Van Buren County
Clear Lake is scheduled for a fish community survey. Walleye stocking will continue in Maple Lake and the Black River. Bankson Lake will continue to receive muskellunge and the East Branch Paw Paw River will be stocked with brown trout. A creel survey will be conducted at the Port of South Haven.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to <url url="[Permission to view this media is denied]
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Always important but not mentioned much are the economic opportunities for the local communities. The lower Grand River system will be the great fishing destination for everything Michigan has to offer. There are all the Lake Michigan fishery (salmon, lake trout, steelhead, perch, whitefish), the warm water pan fish in the bayous and Spring Lake, and the other fish within the gravel pits and river (catfish, walleye, pike, bass), and now the GLS mixed in everywhere too suit any fishing style. The charter captains can adapt to mix fish combos to the seasons and weather. The locals are lucky to be within all these fishing opportunities to save on the gas prices. Enjoy.

"Hamilton Reef" said:
Mona Lake has other biological and nutrient problems the Mona Watershed needs to work out first, thus there is time to stock the other waters and come back to Mona Lake later.

Muskegon County Drain Commissioner asks for approval to fight Mona Lake algae blooms

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02/27/12 By Megan Hart | ** you do not have permission to see this link ** The Muskegon Chronicle

The culprit behind algae blooms that have fouled Mona Lake in recent summers is lurking in the old celery flats, Muskegon County Drain Commissioner David Fisher said.

Monday, he asked Norton Shores City Council members if they wanted him to do anything about it, and if so, to pay up. City Administrator Mark Meyers agreed to add the question to the agenda for the city council’s next meeting, to be held at 7 p.m. March 6 at Norton Shores Branch Library, 705 Seminole.

The roughly 200-acre celery flats on either side of Black Creek on the east end of Mona Lake are responsible for about 70 percent of the phosphorus in Mona Lake, according to a recent study, Fisher said. Excessive amounts of phosphorus in water leads to algae growth that hampers recreational water users and can poison animals that come in contact with the algae.

“In July and August the blue green algae starts breaking out and your constituents can’t let their dogs in the water and the waterskiers are thinking twice about whether they want to go out,” he said.

In the past, farmers along Black Creek asked the county drain commissioner to drain the area around the creek, including the celery flats, and set up dikes so they could farm there, Fisher said. Later property owners weren’t interested in farming, so the pumping stopped, and the dikes had to be breached so the water could drain into Mona Lake and avoid flooding adjoining property, he said.

Now, those breaches in the dikes are allowing phosphorus left over from when the celery flats were fertilized to escape into Mona Lake, Fisher said.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t plug those breaches,” he said.

He asked the council for a resolution authorizing him to study how to avoid flooding after the breaches are plugged and agreeing to assume the costs of the study.

The Mona Lake Watershed Council also presented a long-term vision of returning the celery flats to their original marshy condition. Draining the excess water accumulated there would allow latent seeds of wetland plants to sprout and grow, using the excess phosphorus to build their stems. When the water piled up again, the marsh would act as a filter to remove excess nutrients from upstream before they reached the lake, they said.

The restoration work could be paid for using federal grants, they said, but they won’t know how much it will cost until Fisher completes the study of what needs to be done.

“My hope is if we can restore it we can stop the pumps and knock down the dikes and let it be a free-flowing stream,” Fisher said.