FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 29, 2009
Contacts: Jay Wesley 269-685-6851 or Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014
DNR Fisheries Releases Management Updates for Waters in Southwest Michigan
The Department of Natural Resources’ Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit has announced fishery management actions and activities for the 2009-2010 angling season. These actions and activities include regulations, fish stocking, habitat rehabilitation projects, creel census, and fish community surveys.
“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 public input regarding our management actions and encourage anglers to report on current management activities.”
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 2009 are listed below. Anglers are asked to provide feedback on specific management options.
Allegan County
The Kalamazoo River was sampled in April to determine the presence of spawning lake sturgeon as part of a long-term population rehabilitation effort. Along with the population assessments, spawning and juvenile lake sturgeon habitat projects are being planned. Osterhout Lake will continue to be stocked with muskellunge based on a recent survey. Walleye stocking will resume in Selkirk Lake to continue to control bluegill stunting once disinfection techniques and other procedures are approved for preventing the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSv).
Barry County
Fish community surveys were conducted in May for Payne and Chief Noonday lakes. Brown trout will continue to be stocked in Glass Creek due to insufficient natural reproduction to sustain the fishery. The Nashville Dam will be removed on the Thornapple River. A regulation proposal to remove Gun Lake (Allegan and Barry counties) and Pine Lake (Barry County) from the list of lakes that are closed to the taking of wigglers and crayfish for commercial purposes is being reviewed.
Berrien County
Singer Lake will continue to be stocked with rainbow trout. Big Meadow Creek will continue to be stocked with brown trout, and anglers are encouraged to report trout catches to determine angler interest in future stocking. A regulation proposal to remove the “no more than one (1) walleye over 23” may be possessed from the St. Joseph River below Berrien Springs Dam to the mouth at St. Joseph/Benton Harbor” is being reviewed. A creel survey will be conducted throughout the summer and fall at the Port of St. Joseph/Benton Harbor.
Calhoun County
There is a regulation proposal to add Harts Lake to the Quality Non-Trout Fishing Lakes designation, which would provide catch-and-release fishing only. Dam removal and stream restoration will be completed on Rice Creek near Marshall. A fisheries survey will be conducted on the Kalamazoo River upstream of Battle Creek as part of a long-term fixed sampling program.
Cass County
Harwood Lake will continue to be stocked with rainbow trout. After a 2007 creel survey revealed no catches of rainbow trout on Shavehead Lake, stocking will be discontinued. The type B trout lake regulation on Shavehead Lake will also be removed for 2010. Dewey Lake was surveyed in May to evaluate fish health following a fish die off in 2008. Pokagon Creek will be surveyed as part of a long-term fixed sampling program.
Clinton County
Looking Glass River will be surveyed as part of a long-term fixed sampling program.
Eaton County
The Battle Creek River restoration project will be completed this summer in Charlotte by diverting the existing flow into the restored meander section.
Jackson County
Brown trout stocking will continue in Snyder Brook.
Kalamazoo County
Eagle Lake in the Fort Custer Recreation Area will be stocked for the first time with muskellunge in the fall of 2009. Spring Brook will be surveyed as part of a long-term fixed sampling program.
Kent County
Lincoln Lake walleye stocking will resume once disinfection techniques and other procedures are approved for preventing the spread of VHSv. Muskellunge stocking will be discontinued on Campau Lake due to low forage numbers and lack of angler catches. Murray Lake will continue to be stocked with muskellunge. Surveys will be conducted to determine the population status of lake sturgeon in the Grand River below 6th Street Dam. Anglers are reminded that all lake sturgeon must be returned to the Grand River. There is no legal harvest of lake sturgeon in most areas of the state including the Grand River due to their threatened status. A regulation proposal to close the Flat River (Kent County) to bow and spear fishing from M-21 (T06N R09W 02) downstream to the confluence of with the Grand River during April 1-May 31 is being reviewed. This is to protect the state threatened river redhorse sucker.
Montcalm County
Crystal Lake will continue to be stocked with walleye once VHSv disinfection techniques are approved.
Muskegon County
Little Blue Lake was surveyed in June to evaluate the fish community. A creel survey will be conducted this summer and fall at the Port of Muskegon.
Newaygo County
Walleye stocking will be discontinued in Bills Lake due to poor survival and lack of angler success.
Ottawa County
The Pigeon River will continue to be stocked with brown trout. The Port of Grand Haven will have a creel survey throughout summer and fall.
St. Joseph County
Klinger Lake will continue to be stocked with walleye. Redear sunfish stocking was discontinued on Long Lake (Colon Township). Clear and Long (Fabius Township) lakes were surveyed in June to evaluate the fish community and will have creel surveys throughout the summer to evaluate angler use.
Van Buren County
Lake of the Woods will continue to be stocked with walleye. Muskellunge stocking will continue on Round Lake. Brown trout will continue to be stocked in Brush Creek. A sediment trap on Brush Creek will be abandoned due to lack of best management practices in the watershed to limit sediment inputs. The trap was not effective or practical with these continued sediment inputs. A creel survey will be conducted at the Port of South Haven throughout the summer and fall.
For more information about fishing opportunities in Michigan, visit the DNR Fisheries Web pages at <url url="[Permission to view this media is denied]
">** you do not have permission to see this link **.
The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural resources for current and future generations.
Muskie snippets:
Allegan County – Osterhout Lake will continue to be stocked with muskellunge based on a recent survey.
Kalamazoo County – Eagle Lake in the Fort Custer Recreation Area will be stocked for the first time with muskellunge in the fall of 2009.
Kent Count – Muskellunge stocking will be discontinued on Campau Lake due to low forage numbers and lack of angler catches. Murray Lake will continue to be stocked with muskellunge.
Van Buren County – Muskellunge stocking will continue on Round Lake.
The Grand Rapids area is the 2nd biggest city by populus,
but its losing stocking on a muskie lake (Campau). They
should be adding to lakes around GR not taking away. WTF??
Forage issues?? The fish I have seen at Campau were
as healthy as any other lake I have seen.
Wont matter much, but Jay will be getting a call from me.
I understand we want everyone across the state to be able
to have access to a muskie lake within a reasonable distance
but the larger cities have tons more people to accomadate.
(not just MMA members). [smilie=2c.gif]
"kid coulson" said:
The Grand Rapids area is the 2nd biggest city by populus,
but its losing a muskie lake (Campau). They should be
adding lakes around GR not taking away. WTF??
Forage issues?? The fish I have seen at Campau were
as healthy as any other lake I have seen.
Wont matter much, but Jay will be getting a call from me.
Sure it's a lake w/ muskies but I've always contended that it's a waste of fish to stock Campau. IMO it's a good management decision as Campau shouldn't have been stocked in the first place. Also consider that it was last stocked in 2006 so it will be a decent fishery for at least the next 10 years.
What are your resonings for it
not to have been stocked in the
first place? Because I know you
took full advantage of it. Dude,..
how many muskie have you caught
out of that lake over the years.
PS- Does Jay know there have been
at least 3 48" that came out of Campau
over the last 2 seasons.
Put that in the creel survey.
"kid coulson" said:
What are your resonings for it
not to have been stocked in the
first place? Because I know you
took full advantage of it. Dude,..
how many muskie have you caught
out of that lake over the years.
I'm not sure what I have or haven't caught has to do with this. Just because it's in my backyard doesn't mean I like it or think it is a good lake. So… where should I start?
It has a poor forage base and if there was one lake still on the stocking list that should never have been stocked it is this one. I've been talking to Jay about removing or reducing Campau for many years. This is the kind of lake that stocking muskies could have a very negative impact. I would hope that we (muskie anglers) wouldn't support stocking just because we wanted fish in a lake without regard for the overall impact muskies will have on the fishery.
With limited numbers of fish coming out of Wolf Lake putting fish in marginal lakes is a poor decision, especially if they are taking fish from other waters.
"kid coulson" said:
PS- Does Jay know there have been
at least 3 48" that came out of Campau
over the last 2 seasons.
Put that in the creel survey.
OK… but what do those 48" fish have to eat in there? Maybe some juvinile carp, bluegills, limited perch and bass?
It was a tiger lake because they thought the tigers would help the stunted bluegill – that doesn't work. It made it to the natural muskie program because it was a tiger lake. It's being removed because they looked at the lake from a management perspective (finally) and realized it should have been stocked.
"kid coulson" said:
There have been muskie in Campau for
30 years!! Its now a bad decision?
So?! See above…
Always has been, now they have the science (recent fish survey) to support changing the bad decision.
I guess we could ask them to keep making management decisions based on FEELINGS or we could support their decisions based on science.
Not so much "feelings".
I know what I see. Healthy looking fish. Fish as big
as any other lake around here. The lake has supported a decent
muskie fishery for 25+ years(5 years for the little
shavers to grow) and now a "recent survey"
that prolly took 4 hours deems the forage base
not good enough. Im not sold on that one.
Proof is in the pudding, Campau fish are
as good as any I have seen on average.
My aurgument is not even so much about Campau,
its the location of a muskie lake in general.Campau is
around a city with lots of fisherpeople. The bigger populus
areas need more muskie lakes not less.
Will is correct. The muskie lake stocking needs must be first decided on biological management decisions (forage up/down changes and past history of fishery success) and then on financial priorities to best support the statewide program with what the DNR has to work with (the financial future is not pretty). Example: The limited number of fish available for stocking may take fish from Campau Lake of limited success to Eagle Lake in the Fort Custer Recreation Area with greater potential of success.
"kid coulson" said:
Not so much "feelings".
I know what I see. Healthy looking fish. Fish as big
as any other lake around here.
12 years old and only 48"… I'm not sure if I would call that "healthy". I would call that not growing at the state average.
"kid coulson" said:
The lake has supported a decent
muskie fishery for 25+ years(5 years for the little
shavers to grow) and now a "recent survey"
that prolly took 4 hours deems the forage base
not good enough. Im not sold on that one.
Proof is in the pudding, Campau fish are
as good as any I have seen on average.
OK…
Based on when they were stocked they aren't growing as fast as they should be – why not? Based on the numbers stocked why aren't the numbers they should be. The answer to both is forage. It was a bad decision to stock tigers because they don't control bluegills, big bass control bluegills. It wasn't a good decision to put pure muskies there because the forage for the tigers was supposed to be blugills. Now once the muskies mature they start eating bass which will really control the bluegills but they can't and the fishery gets out of whack.
"kid coulson" said:
My aurgument is not even so much about Campau,
its the location of a muskie lake in general.Campau is
around a city with lots of fisherpeople. The bigger populus
areas need more muskie lakes not less.
So, how many muskie anglers are there around Grand Rapids? 20? 30? How many lakes within an hour? It isn't like Campau is gone and all the fish are going to leave because it isn't going to be stocked. At least ten years of fishing there will provide many anglers with many fish. In the mean time other opportunites might arise.
Ok its over…..liked having Campau as the second option in the county too. BUT its decisions like THIS that we want the DNR to FINALLY make. Besides, ten more years of fishing there…….and by the time that shallow weed killed power boating puddle, POS is not worth fishing, Where will the Michigan esocid program be then…leaps and bounds better than the past 25 years when Campau was getting stocked. Bottom line, it was a good run for Campau, but is it the lagacy that you want to leave for your kids? Not me. [smilie=2c.gif]
Do agree w Kid that there should be more than one body of water, at least within a 45 minute drive for us GR Guys and there are plenty of options………How many options do you have close from KZOO? More than GR? Thats weird to me……Austin, "Camp Muskellunge", Round, Bankson, Thorn, OOSTER, Dianne, Long hmmmmmm
Muskie fishing has emotion at its center, and hence the passing of Campau is an emotional issue. The forage base would probably be better served by bass than muskies, so I can see that end of it. Ideally to have 10-20 fingerlings a year slipped in there to keep the apex predator there in non-impact numbers would be nice, but that is not feasible. I have had great moments on Campau that I will never forget.
Austin and Campau, I will raise my glass to you.
I will look forward to fishing Eagle.
NOTHING IS OVER!,… Ya just dont turn it off. It wasnt my
war. You asked me I didnt ask you.
ONLY 48" in 12 years. Not state average? I need a survey
to believe that.
20 or 30 muskie anglers around Grand Rapids?? Judas,…
I must see all them at Murray on a Sat. evening.
(Maybe 20-30 from the MMA) but we are a fraction
of total muskie anglers.
Reef,… thats kinda my point "location"
Dude I fish Campau like 6 times a year.
Its not like my "HOME" lake even though
it is the closest to me (.35 min.)
GR/Muskegon/Holland,.. these areas
need more muskie waters not a reduction.
Campau= steady muskie producer for 25 years.
Been stocked for 30. A brief survey is done
over a limited time period and BANG! thats ,that.
"adamminnick" said:
Do agree w Kid that there should be more than one body of water, at least within a 45 minute drive for us GR Guys and there are plenty of options………How many options do you have close from KZOO? More than GR? Thats weird to me……Austin, "Camp Muskellunge", Round, Bankson, Thorn, OOSTER, Dianne, Long hmmmmmm
Yup…… gotta love it!
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