How many salmon are stocked in lake michigan

Lake trout and brown trout feed on gobies more frequently than salmon and steelhead do, however, gobies are occasionally consumed by chinook, coho and steelhead as well. There are some studies being conducted throughout the lake looking at diets of trout and salmon. Both zebra Dreissena polymorpha and quagga mussels Dreissena rostriformis bugensis are found in Lake Michigan.

Zebra mussel was the dominant mussel through the mids but now the quagga mussel is the dominant dreissenid mussel in the lake.

For additional information on Wisconsin fishing, e. Fishing Lake Michigan trout and salmon? Fishing Wisconsin. Why isn't there a special snagging season for salmon on some rivers? What strain of brown trout does Wisconsin stock?

Where do all the trout and salmon go after spawning? How can you distinguish a non-spawning fish as male or female? I see a small yellow mark on Chinook salmon, what is it? Does the absence of any fin clips on a lake trout mean that some are reproducing naturally? Are there any splake or tiger trout hybrids in Lake Michigan? Are spawning fish in the rivers any less safe to consume? How many eggs are there in a female chinook, or coho salmon? Female steelhead or brown trout? How do you tell the difference between the strains of steelhead?

What strains of rainbow trout or steelhead are stocked in Lake Michigan? How old are the fish when they spawn? Are pink salmon stocked in Lake Michigan? Why don't trout and salmon reproduce naturally in Wisconsin? What is the current Chinook salmon natural reproduction level in Lake Michigan?

How much do wild produced Chinook salmon contribute to the fishery in Wisconsin? Can round gobies be intentionally targeted while fishing? Do salmon and trout feed on round gobies? Dreissenid mussels — what species are in the lake now? Questions and Answers Why isn't there a special snagging season for salmon on some rivers?

Back to Top Does the absence of any fin clips on a lake trout mean that some are reproducing naturally? Steelhead 5, eggs Chinook 5, eggs Coho 2, eggs Seeforellen Brown Trout 7, eggs How do you tell the difference between the strains of steelhead? Back to Top How old are the fish when they spawn? Frequently asked questions For additional information on Wisconsin fishing, e. For more information, contact Fisheries Management.

Information states and stakeholders used to make lakewide stocking adjustment DNR and counterpart fisheries officials from Michigan, Illinois and Indiana convened a series of stakeholder groups over the last two years to look at the latest scientific information on Lake Michigan game fish and prey fish populations, and to develop alternative stocking strategies.

Wisconsin DNR also held two rounds of public meetings on the stocking alternatives in Detailed materials presented at the multi-state and DNR workshops are presented below with the most recent materials and sessions first.

Chinook Salmon Stocking on Lake Michigan. In October state fisheries officials in Indiana and Michigan announced they would release an additional , chinook, or , combined, next year. Many fisheries biologists have been concerned that Lake Michigan could suffer a collapse of the fishery similar to what occurred in Lake Huron in the early s.

The chinook population in Lake Huron nose-dived after the alewife were depleted. Fisheries managers have long attempted to balance the populations of predator fish stocked in the lake with the available prey base.

Recent stocking cuts were thought to have helped some forage fish, especially alewife, increase in number in recent years. The biomass of alewife increased to 0. Geological Survey. And the total prey fish biomass was 6. The average weight of 3-year-old female chinook salmon captured lake-wide in was However, the biomass of forage fish in the lake remains at historically low levels, leading to the cautious approach recommended by the LMC.