This spring, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will be on the water collecting eggs from Great Lakes muskellunge in the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair.
The eggs are being collected for the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery in Mattawan, Mich. The practice of collecting Great Lakes muskellunge eggs, instead of northern muskellunge eggs, began in 2011 in an effort to raise a type of muskellunge that is native to more of Michigan’s waters.
In 2012, 1.1 million eggs were collected from the Detroit River and produced more than 28,000 fall fingerlings for 18 inland lakes in Michigan, two of which will serve as broodstock lakes for egg collections in the future. An additional 3,200 4-inch fish were transferred to Wisconsin, destined for Green Bay, through a cooperative interstate arrangement.
To collect the eggs, trap nets are used in Anchor Bay in Lake St. Clair during late April and May and fish are captured with electro-fishing gear in the Detroit River in May.
As a safety issue and a precaution, boats on the water should avoid coming close to the electro-fishing boat during nighttime efforts.
To learn more about fishing in Michigan and the Great Lakes muskellunge management effort, go to www.michigan.gov/fishing.
source: Michigan Department of Natural Resources