The Heat is Killing Us

As if the heat and humidity isn't enough this report from the MDNR may mean these conditions will be affecting our fishing in the future.
There have been numerous fish kills recently reported from around the state, and staff from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Fisheries Division is tracking and monitoring these events.

“We appreciate the public letting us know where they are seeing unusual fish kill events,” said Jim Dexter, Fisheries Division chief. “This can be done by emailing reports to DNR-FISH-Report-Fish-Kills@michigan.gov.”

The combination of very high water temperatures and drought flow conditions have made conditions very stressful for fish and, in many cases, these conditions are beyond lethal temperatures for fish. Additionally, high water temperatures also often result in low oxygen values, particularly where there is a lot of vegetation.

“For example, water temperatures of nearly 90 degrees Fahrenheit were recorded in the lower Shiawassee River last week, which resulted in a small kill of northern pike as temperatures were beyond their physiological ability to handle these conditions,” explained Gary Whelan, DNR fish production manager. “We expect to see more of these fish kills until there are major changes in this summer’s weather.”

The overall fisheries effects of such events are often very local in nature and may not significantly change overall population numbers. However, population level effects are not known at this time and will take some time to fully evaluate.

“We recommend anglers be extra careful in handling and unhooking fish that are to be released to keep stress to a minimum. It is also best for our fish if anglers refrain from fishing during the hottest parts of the day and not keep fish to be released in live wells for very long,” continued Whelan. “Fishing in the early morning period is least stressful for fish, as it has the coolest water temperatures.”

Once most fish lose most of the oxygen in their blood they can't make up the loss and will die. Some like carp and largemouth bass have a special chemical in their blood that allows them to extract oxygen more readily from the water. At water temperatures of 80 F and above many fish will crossover that critical concentration and become what's called the living dead. The water can't hold enough oxygen and the fish can't absorb it fast enough. So fish in the morning to help the fish and yourself.

Get Outdoors Downriver.

Leviathan

What is it with our fascination of large fish? Is it a fear factor of not knowing what’s down below? Man has a natural instinct to fear large predators dating back to dinosaur times. I’m guessing T-rex had a lot to do with that. You’d think by now after having fire for over a million years we’d overcome our fear of the unknown and not be scared of any predators. After reports of a man being rescued by a bear from a mountain lion attack I guess we should still retain some of that caution. When you catch one of these big fish the feeling is of exhilaration and great joy. As, I’m sure, you would feel after winning a lottery. Is this because you’ve eliminated a large predator from the system or because the fish put up a good fight and was an enjoyable experience?
I think it’s more about things going right at the right time. The moment of truth so to speak much like hunting when game is spotted and the decision to harvest is made. The moment of truth when the trigger is pulled is much like netting a trophy fish. Everything has to go right and decisions are made in a split second that could affect the outcome of shooting or netting.
When there’s a report of a large fish caught everyone wants to see a picture. Put a mental record on some unbelievable statistics.

A 50” musky.
A 15.9 pound walleye that you netted yourself.
All these fish are large and some caught right here in the Detroit River. So...
Get Outdoors Downriver.

Michigan and Ohio Departments of Natural Resources Six Lake Erie water samples test positive for Asian carp eDNA

"Federal and state wildlife officials working in conjunction with academic researchers today announced six water samples taken from Sandusky and north Maumee bays tested positive for the presence of Asian carp environmental DNA in Michigan and Ohio waters.
The positive samples were among 417 taken from Lake Erie in August 2011, and more than 2,000 samples taken from the Great Lakes Basin since 2010. The Lake Erie batch was recently analyzed and test results were confirmed by eDNA researchers this week. The six positive samples represent less than 1.5 percent of the Lake Erie samples.

Since 2010, the Michigan DNR, Ohio DNR, USFWS, University of Notre Dame, Central Michigan University and the Nature Conservancy have partnered to collect water samples from Great Lakes basin waters, including the Chicago Area Waterway System, southern Lake Michigan, western Lake Erie and tributary streams of lakes Michigan and Erie. The collaborative early-detection Asian carp surveillance program is funded by the USFWS with a federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant, administered under the Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework".

So are we on the slippery slope heading for Great Lakes deserts or is this an over reach by the departments involved. As with CWD worry was at fever pitch until the funding dried up and then less aggresive treatment philosophies were adopted. The government has been fighting an increase in the Asian carp battle funding. Now they may have to incease the budgets or assign more resources to the problem.

Just recently there were reports of studies that said the Asian carp wouldn't have any adverse affect of the Great Lakes and that they would destroy the Great Lakes. If the funding is increased then people doing studies on the problem may get government backing. Lets hope these samples get expained away and we won't have to worry about the problem as of yet. Finding Asian carp DNA in a Chicago canal near where we know the fish are found is one thing but 3 1/2 Great Lakes away is a different story.

Get Outdoors Downriver (before the good fish are gone)

Kid's Day

Head to Lake Erie Metro Park on July 15th for Kid's Day from noon to 4 pm.

Kids will have free use of inflatables, including a moon walk, obstacle course and giant slide, plus a DJ, magic and a puppet show. There will be 100 bicycle helmets handed out to kids on a first come, first serve basis. For additional information, contact the Lake Erie Metropark at 734-379-5020.

Located along the Huron and Clinton rivers, the Huron-Clinton Metroparks provide a natural oasis from urban and suburban life as well as year-round recreational activities and events. A regional park system, the Metroparks consist of 13 beautiful parks covering 25,000 acres, 10 spectacular public golf courses and two marinas on Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, respectively. The parks also offer scenic nature trails, breathtaking beaches, educational activities and exciting winter sports.

Muskiecopia

The Detroit River and it's surrounding waters has to be the largest cornucopia of fish and fishing opportunities in the world. From checking my Michigan Outdoor News I find reports of anglers taking over limits of silver bass. Silver bass? The scourge of the spring walleye enthusiast, silver bass are very popular somewhere. It was reported that the DNR caught enough illegal fishers to confiscate over 900 silvers. Included in one report was the fact that the department would receive $5 for each illegally caught fish. That's over $4500 for the state coffers in just a few weeks and I'm sure there were more busts than what was reported. They're fun to catch but not at that price.
Now that they're gone and the river is settling back to normal the walleye are biting again. Many catches have been made and there are also many throwbacks that will be legal in just a couple of months. While chasing the waldos my son that is jersey-less and a V1 swing software salesman encountered a different fish species just last week.
This is a 45” muskie caught on a walleye jig. Quite a surprise and a little disappointment for him since he didn't get it on one of the baits he normally uses for these fish. Gary and Ben enjoyed the show.

Now it's my turn. Just last Sunday we were out after some walleyes when I got a surprise.
Catching these fish is always fun but once they're in the boat care must be taken as not to get injured or hurt the fish.

As we're heading back for another drift, Jason says Bondy always says there are more than one musky in a spot so we switched over to Bondy baits. These things are big and bulky and hard to jig but there what the muskies want. Sure enough in almost the same spot I hooked the first one I got bit by another musky on the Bondy bait. After the strike I tried to set the hook but there was just slack in the line. Suddenly behind us we heard why, the musky was trashing around on the surface trying to dislodge the bait. Soon it was heading for Davey Jones' locker, the slack was gone and the fight was on. This one was a little bigger than the first and not as cooperative, ending up flopping back in while I was trying to measure it.

We ended up with 2 walleye and 2 musky, quite a productive day. I just goes to show you no matter from boat or shore you never know what you can catch from the Detroit River.

Get Outdoors Downriver