|
No
bait, no kill may come in ‘09
Story by Jeff Harrington, courtesy of The Fishing Wire
 |
DNR fisheries technician Patrick VanDaele holds one of
the AuSable River brown trout during a sampling study
done on the Mio section of the river last year.
Image courtesy of Michigan DNR |
MIO,
Michigan — Rainbow trout and non-trout species would be fair
game for anglers to catch and keep year-round on the Au Sable
River below Mio, but the harvest of brown trout might be limited
even more, or prohibited altogether, under regulation changes
suggested at two meetings recently. Fishing could also be
limited to the use of artificial lures and flies throughout
the entire Mio to Alcona section of the Au Sable, beginning
as early as April 2009.
That
was the message state Department of Natural Resources fisheries
biologists got from anglers attending a pair of public meetings
last month. Approximately 50 people turned out for a meeting
in Mio, while nearly 100 attended another held in Saginaw.
“The message was pretty clear, although there were several
different variations,” fisheries biologist Steve Sendek said.
“People want to protect the browns to allow more of them to
grow to trophy size.”
The meetings were intended to allow comment on the findings
and recommendations of a recently completed “Status of the
Fishery” report on the nearly 24-mile stretch of the Au Sable
from Mio Dam downstream to the Alcona Dam Pond, near Glennie.
The
DNR has stocked this section of the Au Sable — commonly referred
to as the Mio Trophy Waters — with 96,000 trout, half rainbows
and half browns, each of the past several years, at a cost
of approximately $75,000 annually.
Much of that cost is covered under a 1994 settlement with
Consumers Energy, in which the utility agreed to operate the
Mio Hydroelectric Dam on a run of the river basis and contribute
annually to a habitat improvement fund, according to Sendek.
Still, the dam's effect on the downstream water temperature
continues to have a significant impact on what the fishery
might otherwise be.
“Mio
Dam pretty much dictates what happens downstream,” Sendek
commented during the March 5 meeting in Mio.
Further explaining the situation, Sendek noted that testing
conducted throughout last summer showed several days in July
and early August when the river exceeded 75 degrees Fahrenheit
— far above the 68 degrees most cold-water fish species, especially
rainbow trout, can tolerate.
Consequently, naturally produced young do not survive in the
river.
“Successful reproduction is non-existent. The trout go through
the motions of spawning, but the young simply do not make
it,” Sendek said.
In fact, most of the planted rainbows that are not taken by
anglers or killed by predators simply die off before reaching
two years of age, according to the study.
“Rainbows just don't cut it here beyond a certain age,” Sendek
said.
However, he defended the continued stocking of rainbow trout,
saying the species provides an attractive opportunity for
a specific segment of anglers, and adds to the overall economic
impact of the fishery.
And, he noted, efforts to find a solution to the problem are
continuing.
“We are currently working on that (water temperature) issue,”
Sendek said, noting that Mio Dam presently draws water only
from the top third or so of the 29-foot-deep impoundment.
Sendek said the DNR is trying to get Consumers to install
aeration equipment upstream of the dam to bring colder water
up from the bottom of the impoundment and cool the discharge
temperature downstream.
It's a different story with brown trout, which are seemingly
more tolerant of the temperature variation and appear to thrive
during colder periods, to the extent that the growth rate
exceeds that of almost any other natural waterway anywhere
in the state.
“The growth rate is very high, and the survival rate of large
browns is significant.” Sendek commented.
Electro-shocking studies conducted as part of the research
effort found a sizeable population of 3- to 4-year-old browns
in the 15- to 24-inch range, and a few 7- and 8-year-old fish
measuring 25 inches or more.
It is these fish that most anglers attending the two meetings
seemed keenly interested in protecting, either by extending
or increasing the current 15-inch minimum size for harvesting
browns in the power line to McKinley stretch (14 miles) across
the entire Mio to Alcona reach, or imposing a complete no-kill
regulation.
Current regulations allow anglers to keep up to two fish per
day, browns at least 15 inches, rainbows at least 12 inches,
between the power line and McKinley, using artificial lures
and flies only. Above and below that, from Mio Dam to the
power line and from McKinley to the Forest Service 4001 Road
bridge, the size limits are 12 and 10 inches, respectively,
with daily possession of five trout in combination, no more
than three over 15 inches.
While many anglers, including avid fly fishermen, said they
did not see the need to restrict fishing to flies-only, there
was overwhelming support for “simplifying” the current tackle
regulations by making it the same for the entire Mio to Alcona
reach. Currently, fishing with bait is allowed from Mio Dam
down to the Mio Power Line, and from McKinley Bridge downstream
to the Forest Service 4001 Road bridge.
There was also support for expanding the season to year-round
and reducing the legal size limit for rainbows from the current
12-inch minimum to 10 inches throughout the entire section
of river.
Besides input at the two meetings, Sendek said he had also
received a number of additional comments through letters and
e-mails. He will continue to take comments through April;
via e-mail to DNR-LakeHuron@michigan.gov
; or by mail to Steve Sendek, DNR, 1955 Hartwick Pines
Road, Grayling, MI 49738.
Sendek said a report will be made at the district level in
May, with recommendations to the Natural Resources Commission
by November. Any new regulations would likely become effective
in April 2009.
|
