Before this becomes a rumor I'll pass this along to everyone so any questions that can be answered (at this point) can be answered.
As of April 1, 2018 there will no longer be a muskellunge tag in Michigan, as a result Michigan will go back to a 1/day possession/bag limit on muskellunge.
Currently the state is spending approximately $40,000 to print the muskellunge tag and about that same amount on the sturgeon tag. Combined that's enough to hire another, much needed, fisheries staff member. In addition, in 2014 only two fish were reported and in 2015 only 4 fish were reported. The fact that we're not gathering any data from the tag makes it that much easier to make the decision.
I've known about the tag since August but at that time there wasn't a decision made as to bag limit and it was being considered to have the tag printable with mandatory reporting. I have recently talked to and had a meeting with the fisheries chief and he asked for what MMA would find acceptable for minimum size limit (MSL) and seasons as a result of the forthcoming change. Any new regulations will be fast tracked through the Warmwater Resources Steering Committee (WRSC) and the fisheries division to be put into effect on April 1, 2018.
Through some quick work on the part of the MMA Regulations Committee (Duke LeBaron, JP Van Osterberg and Steve Pedersen) last Friday MMA submitted a five page document consisting of supporting data for the following four "acceptable" regulation options:
Option 1
50" MSL statewide (optional 38", 42” and 54" for specific waters based on biological data)
Season – Lower Peninsula south of M-55: Last sat in April – Dec 15, Lower Peninsula North of M-55, the UP and Great Lakes and connecting waters : First sat in June – Dec 15 (option to close waters locally to protect spawning)
Option 2
50" MSL statewide (optional 38", 42” and 54" for specific waters based on biological data)
Season – Lower Peninsula south of M-55: Last sat in April – January 3, Lower Peninsula North of M-55 and the UP : May 15 – January 31(option to close waters locally to protect spawning)
Option 3
50" MSL statewide (optional 38", 42” and 54" for specific waters based on biological data)
Season – Statewide, year round, hook and line Catch and Immediate Release, Statewide harvest seasons 1st Saturday in June through March 1(option to close waters locally to protect spawning)
Option 4
50” MSL statewide (optional 38", 42” and 54" for specific waters based on biological data)
Season – Last Saturday in April to March 15, May 15 to March 15, St Clair First Saturday in June to December 15 (option to close waters locally to protect spawning)
FO – 219 has spearing ban waters removed and those are replaced with 15 waters where spearing is allowed for
Muskellunge. These waters would have the optional 42” MSL and consist of only stocked waters allowing the Michigan Darkhouse Angling Association to be directly involved in the management of waters open to spearing.
At this point this is being reviewed by the fisheries chief and he will be taking options to the biologists. In January there will be a WRSC meeting to review and discuss possible options that will then be made available for public comment. As this progresses I'll continue to update MMA through the newsletter.
"hemichemi" said:
Wow.Just when I though the MI-DNR was going to be serious about smart muskie management. Why not just drop the whole program? Think of all the money they'd save!
Time to take up walleye fishing…
This will really test how serious they are. We were flexible with the 1/season and 46" MSL but we will NOT be flexible with a statewide 50" MSL. Option 1 or Option 2 eliminates or nearly eliminates muskie spearing. With what just happened to the Chinook stocking in Lake Michigan, purely social management, now is the time to dig our heels in and say that anything less than 50" statewide MSL is NOT acceptable. MN is 54" statewide and WI has many waters at 50" and some at 54" and Michigan needs to follow suit.
I know option 3 is the least favorable but let me elaborate real quick on how it would effect the chain waters. This season alone there have been 6 harvests of sub 50" fish that I know of. 3 in torch river during the spawning cycle, two summer fish from clam and one from bellaire. I've heard of a few other fish caught but I can't confirm that they were harvested. The 50 inch limit would eliminate all these harvests and allow a substantial amount more of available mature adults for spawning. I would hope that spawning closures and even the higher 54" limit would be imposed which would be better for the system than the current tag system. The main goal in my opinion should be more spawners. Giant fish being speared sucks but having fish to replace them should be priority.
I understand the cost factor involved in printing the tags vs hiring another person in fisheries so I'm not really upset about that part. I fully support our firm stance on 50" msl in response to no longer printing tags and going back to 1 per day harvest. I like the option for different msl to protect low populations or to help with stunted growth. Good job to all involved.
"Esoxonthefly" said:
I understand the cost factor involved in printing the tags vs hiring another person in fisheries so I'm not really upset about that part. I fully support our firm stance on 50" msl in response to no longer printing tags and going back to 1 per day harvest. I like the option for different msl to protect low populations or to help with stunted growth. Good job to all involved.
Agreed. I like the options that making spearing impossible for Muskie. But I would like a open season at the same time. Most lakes fish are unable to reproduce in. The lakes that natural reproduction happens close those down for the season. Indiana and Ohio both have a open season it's nice to fish in a warm early spring. But whatever is best for our fisherys is the best possible option.
"alumacraft07" said:
[quote="Esoxonthefly"]I understand the cost factor involved in printing the tags vs hiring another person in fisheries so I'm not really upset about that part. I fully support our firm stance on 50" msl in response to no longer printing tags and going back to 1 per day harvest. I like the option for different msl to protect low populations or to help with stunted growth. Good job to all involved.
Agreed. I like the options that making spearing impossible for Muskie. But I would like a open season at the same time. Most lakes fish are unable to reproduce in. The lakes that natural reproduction happens close those down for the season. Indiana and Ohio both have a open season it's nice to fish in a warm early spring. But whatever is best for our fisherys is the best possible option.
Yes, in most of the currently stocked lakes they are unable to reproduce. However with the switch in the strain being stocked, these regulations need to be done right for what we WILL have, not for what we DO have. The goal for the drowned river mouths, and river systems is that they will not need hatchery help in the future. The lakes added from here on out will have the same primary objective. The few inland lakes we have where it will never happen are also susceptible to seasonal movements, and vulnerabilities. My dream for this is that soon there will be less lakes in the LP that need stocking exclusively than there are naturalized lakes!
"Steve S" said:
The other shoe drops!! I guess they won't get rid of the sturgeon tag, Will I take it your going to war with the Darkhouse idiots. Just nuke em, 50" minimum state wide, no surrender. Probably have to give them a few lake, give them puddles. When is the DNR going to wake up and look at MN. & WI.
Actually the plan is to eliminate the sturgeon tag as well.
"Will Schultz" said:
[quote="hemichemi"]Wow.Just when I though the MI-DNR was going to be serious about smart muskie management. Why not just drop the whole program? Think of all the money they'd save!
Time to take up walleye fishing…
This will really test how serious they are. We were flexible with the 1/season and 46" MSL but we will NOT be flexible with a statewide 50" MSL. Option 1 or Option 2 eliminates or nearly eliminates muskie spearing. With what just happened to the Chinook stocking in Lake Michigan, purely social management, now is the time to dig our heels in and say that anything less than 50" statewide MSL is NOT acceptable. MN is 54" statewide and WI has many waters at 50" and some at 54" and Michigan needs to follow suit.
I'm grateful for those of you who are "in the know" on this! I won't pretend to understand all of the subtleties of each of the options and how they play out, so for now I'm happy to support the MMA in the effort moving forward.
Thanks All!
"alumacraft07" said:
Do we have any updates on the regulation talk? Has the dnr made any decision on this for 2018 yet?
You'll know about it long before any decision is made. We will be discussing possible options in February at the DNR's Warmwater Resources Steering Committee meeting. After that, final options should go out to the public for comments and the comment period usually lasts at least a month. It's likely nothing will be finalized until September at the earliest.
"Will Schultz" said:
[quote="Steve S"]Just a SWAG guess, what kind of percentage do you think one of these will get to pass?
0%
These are proposed options from MMA for the fisheries division. It's very unlikely the final options that go to the public will look anything like these.
I guess I was 100% correct on my 0% statement. It's amazing how things change in just a couple months. After internal discussions with biologists and managers they would like to keep the 1/yr bag limit but without the tag. This was something that Chief Dexter and I didn't think would be acceptable but after discussions they believe it will be acceptable with mandatory reporting within 24 hours. That's not the end of the story though and these other discussion points will be considered:
– year round catch and release
– first Saturday in June statewide harvest open
– no statewide minimum size limit: biologists will choose from four size limit options for their waters (38, 42, 46 or 50")
There will be options for discussion prepared by February 21st and I will share those options when I have them.
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