“There’s some concern because the chinooks were smaller last year,” Dexter said. “But we know anglers generally prefer numbers of fish versus bigger fish. There’s not a shortage of forage in the lake, but there are probably too many salmon.”

Acoustic sampling done in the fall to estimate baitfish populations is tentative at this point.

“It doesn’t look like it was a great year,” Dexter said. “Alewife production was scattered. Production was good in some areas, just not lake wide.”

Dexter said the MDNR wants to determine the role natural reproduction plays in the overall population of chinook salmon in the lake.

“There have been some studies done that estimate that half the chinooks returning to the Big Manistee River were naturally reproduced. Estimates are that the number in the Grand River is somewhere around 90 percent planted versus 10 percent natural,” claimed Dexter. “Studies that we plan on doing this year should give us a better idea of the number of planted versus natural fish and should shed some light on the overall picture and changes we might need to make. One thing we’re considering is changes in the bag limits.”

Ideally, half the harvest would be made up of chinook salmon, but Dexter estimates that currently 90 percent of the lake’s salmonids are chinooks. Dexter said that’s too many salmon.

The catch rate in Lake Michigan in recent years has approached 20 fish per 100 hours for all species. Of that, chinooks account for 10 to 14 of the catch. The catch rate is extremely high, he said, and probably can’t be maintained, so he hopes to see lower catch rates in the future. He also said he’s a little worried about the reaction of anglers when the catch rate drops.

“Anglers shouldn’t be alarmed,” he cautioned. “Eventually, the catch rate is going to decline to more normal levels.”

Meanwhile, Lake Michigan anglers might want to get while the gettin’s good.

LUDINGTON
Ludington has always been a focal point of Great Lakes fishing, but its prominence might be even greater now. The port was busier than it has ever been in 2007, partly due to the great fishing it offers and partly due to the decline of Lake Huron fisheries. Tri-City anglers with trailerable boats that used to frequent venues like Presque Isle and Rogers City are heading west to Ludington.

“Ludington was busier than I’ve ever seen it last season,” said Bill Warner, who runs his charter boat Willie Wonka from the Ludington Municipal Marina. “I know a lot of people who used to fish Lake Huron are now coming over here.”

Even with the increase in traffic at Ludington, there were still plenty of fish to goaround.

“The fishing was incredible last year,” Warner said. “Most days we’d get out before first light and the first two or three rods would have fish on them. By the time the sun got up, we’d be close to a limit of kings.”

The kings were not as big as in past years.

“A lot of the adult kings were in the 12- to 18-pound range,” Warner said. “We saw very few fish that were over 20 pounds.”

Warner said most anglers prefer catching plenty of fish versus a few big ones. There was also a nice mix of steelhead, coho and lake trout that added variety to the catch.