Northern Inland Lakes Citizens Fishery Advisory Committee

Established by the Department of Natural Resources, to improve and maintain fishery resources through better communication and partnership.

Northern Inland Lakes Citizens Fishery Advisory Committee Meeting Friday, October 11, 2019 Tuscarora Township Hall Indian River MI Approved

Attendees: Tom Ludwig, Erv Dedow, Dave Steenstra, Jim Burke, Virgil Smith, Ron Dulak, Ray McMullen, Wayne Blomberg, Erin McLean, Marty Jones, Jim Mortimer, J. P. Van Ostenberg, Bill Parsons, Emily Martin, Tim Cwalinski, Frank Krist, Dave Borgeson (notetaker), Randy Claramunt, Ken Kreichelt, Bob Garant, Gregg Siebert, Rick Fowler, Paul Fox, Alan Thompson, Roger Jacobs, Roy Tassava, Joe Van Antwerp, Gary Isaman, Steve Schultz, Dave Edwards, Nick Johnson, Steven Roznowski, Paul Borg, Robert Wysocki, Gail Scharffe, Randy Felsing, Jim Bowers, Roger Bergstedt, John Hutto, Rick Colonna, Tim Rosochacki, Brad Kessel and Dennis Fauver.

Welcome, introductions: Frank and Tim welcomed everyone, and all present introduced themselves.

Walleye season opener for the Northern Lower Peninsula discussion (Dave Borgeson, MDNR Northern Unit Manager)

Frank provided a quick background to set the stage for the walleye season discussion. Dave shared a presentation crafted by Patrick Hanchin that explained the recent history and exploitation rates of select studied walleye

populations in the Northern Lower Peninsula. A list of the season changes since 1986 are listed below:

There have been many changes to statewide walleye seasons over the years. The expanded season in 1987 was designed to increase fishing opportunity following general positive responses of walleye populations after improvements to habitat and walleye stocking.

Page 1 of 20 The shortening of the U.P. season in 1996 was pushed by public concerns of excessive harvest of spawning congregations. The extension of the U.P. season in 2008 was a common sense move since walleyes in the U.P. should not have the winter season end earlier than the Lower Peninsula. We used tag returns from various lakes to show that harvest in that period was low. The 2010 changes in the Inland Waterway were specific exceptions rather than changes to the statewide regulations. While the population was determined to be relatively low in Mullet Lake during 2010, there were considerable politics at play as well. The changes were intended to be temporary so in 2019 following several years of stocking as well as natural reproduction, the walleye season on Mullett Lake returned to the statewide regulation.

Dave showed the exploitation rates (which is the percent of the adult population harvested in a given year) for the lakes in the Inland Waterway, which were generally under or near 15% as shown below.

These Northern Lower Peninsula lakes have about average exploitation and there is no concern for these values. There would be more concern if exploitation was approaching 35%.

Dave discussed the slides of each lake below that showed the exploitation rates for each 2-week period during the season. In 2011, Mullet Lake was closed for the first 2 weeks, but it appears that some people did not know and caught and reported a few walleye. It is also possible that these returns could have been legal tribal harvest reported as recreational harvest. Exploitation is a product of catch rate, effort, and the angler’s harvest decision once fish are caught. While catch rates can be high in the spring, overall effort is usually low, thusoverall exploitation is not high. In fact, the peak exploitation on Mullett Lake was in late July and early August.

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For , the peak was in late May and early June.

For Crooked and Pickerel lakes below, the peak exploitation was in late May and early June. Notice that winter exploitation is very low in all lakes.

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The Black Lake tag returns were evaluated in 2005 and the peak exploitation in Black Lake, as shown below, occurred in June and was quite variable all year.

These charts showed that the early harvest before May 15 does not appear to make up much of the overall yearly exploitation Spawning closures at many locations are already in place to protect highly vulnerable walleye populations in years where they may be in these rivers during the first two weeks of May. These moderate rates are not alarming for the rest of the waterway. Dave and Tim made the point that a relatively small adult walleye population can produce large year classes, so the harvest rates seen on these waters during spawning or near spawning periods will likely not have a measurable effect on spawning success. In addition, most vulnerable

Page 4 of 20 walleye on the spawning grounds are males since they spend the entire spawning cycle on the grounds, whereas females tend to move in and out very quickly after spawning. Dave said that it would be difficult to justify additional spring protections for the studied lakes with the information currently available. There doesn’t appear to be a compelling biological reason to make changes in the rules. He further stated that there are benefits of having simple statewide regulations that are understandable by most of the public, as opposed to a patchwork of water- specific regulations that may be marginally more appropriate to a water body but could potentially complicate regulations enough to confuse many anglers. Despite this, we do have some spawning closures on certain rivers in northern Michigan where walleye concentrate during spawning.

It was mentioned by one of the participants that walleye have been mismanaged by the DNR for the past 40 years, and the populations and fishery was much better prior to the current management regime. Randy Claramunt, DNR Lake Huron Basin Coordinator, who supervises the lakes and rivers on the west side of the state, agreed that the DNR has made mistakes on several fronts in the past but much has been learned as we move forward and the public’s input is encouraged and always appreciated. Frank mentioned that there has been major research undertaken during the recent 3-year (2011-2013) study of walleye biology and movements throughout the Inland Waterway. This project brought together the cooperative efforts of the DNR, Tribes, Universities and other agencies, to complete the most comprehensive study of walleye ever conducted in these lakes. The Northern Inland Lakes Citizens Fishery Advisory Committee was updated at each regular meeting and the participants provided steady input and were able to exchange ideas with the researchers, before, during and after the study was completed. This relationship between individual stakeholders, DNR, Tribes, other agencies, Universities, lake associations, businesses and others that are interested continues through at least two Citizen Advisory Northern Inland Lakes Citizens Fishery Advisory Committee meetings each year. Over the last two decades the DNR has made a strong effort to involve the public in decision-making in nearly all aspects of its operation. The following DNR web page will provide links to the extensive number of Citizen Advisory Committees that have been established, including many fishery committees, https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79137_79763---,00.html

Much of the discussion on the walleye season became centered around the walleye overharvest situation that occurred at the mouth of the Rainy River in Black Lake (to be covered also in next agenda topic). The difference between the delayed opener for the Rainy River as opposed to Black Lake was cited by Irv Dedow and others as problematic. Irv thought it leads to a greater probability of illegal activity. The group agreed that a smaller subgroup will be formed to discuss this issue in depth to determine if any changes or studies are necessary.

Summary of the Rainy River walleye patrols this spring (MDNR Officers Paul Fox and Tim Rosochacki)

Officer Tim Rosochacki explained his focus on the spring spawning congregations, and the ensuing poaching that inevitably occurs. He stressed the need for prompt reporting of illegal activity so that they can catch them in the act. Officer Paul Fox mentioned that he lives near the Rainy River, and also asked that folks call quickly if they witness something suspicious. Paul issued tickets this past spring. Fines and restitution have been as high as $100for illegal fishing in the vicinity of the Rainy River mouth. Paul and Erin McLean discussed the issue with the local judge and fines have been increased to $300. Word has been getting out that law enforcement was staking out the Rainy River with search warrants readily available in case they are needed during the investigations. This year was different than the previous year since the anglers were not catching walleyes to a great degree at the Rainy mouth but were catching them elsewhere in Black Lake after opening day..

Development of aggregations of fish and game animals vary seasonally from year to year depending on the weather conditions, so it is difficult to estimate probable dates of the peak activity. The Black Lake Association (BLA) has done a very good job sending prompt information to Paul. Paul believes enforcement on the Rainy has become much more effective with this improved communication and developing relationship. Ron Dulak said BLA placed information in their newsletter to publicize the issue with the goal of adding more eyes looking for and reporting violators.

Page 5 of 20 Updated limnological data for our large lakes from the lake monitoring program (Dave Edwards, Monitoring and Research Director, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council)

Dave discussed the overall focus of the Council which is directed toward watershed management, restoration, policy and advocacy, education and outreach, monitoring and surveys. Water monitoring of the lakes and rivers in the area is an important aspect of Council’s mission. There are two lake water monitoring programs including the Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program and the Comprehensive Water Monitoring Program. The Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program works with volunteers to gather readings for Secchi disc, chlorophyll-a, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen for 35 lakes spread throughout Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, and Montmorency Counties. Some lakes have been participating in the Program since the 1980’s with the larger lakes having multiple basins measured. These baseline parameters are important to determine the health of a waterbody and most importantly the data are used to educate the public about water quality issues and aquatic ecology. The following link will provide details of the program and will allow the database to be downloaded https://www.watershedcouncil.org/volunteer-lake-monitoring.html The map below shows the sites where samples are taken.

The Comprehensive Water Quality Monitoring Program is conducted by the Council’s staff every three years. The Program was launched by Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council in 1987, with subsequent field data collected in 1992, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016. Typically, data for nine parameters, including temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, clarity, total phosphorous, total nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen, and chloride are collected at the surface, middle and bottom of the water column in each water body. These highly accurate water quality data for lakes and rivers in Northern Michigan have been collected consistently for the last 30+ years. This information has been compiled into a single database that can be used to evaluate aquatic ecosystem health, examine trends within or among water bodies, and identify specific problems. The database is available at the following link and a new interactive map will be available soon: https://www.watershedcouncil.org/comprehensive-water-quality-monitoring.html The current map below shows where the samples have been taken .

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Dave explained that the nutrients phosphorus and nitrogen are needed for the growth of algae and other phytoplankton, which is the basis of the food web as shown in the chart below.

Page 7 of 20 Phosphorus is especially important because in most Michigan waterbodies it is the limiting nutrient. needed for growth. There has been a general decrease in phosphorus level across most lakes in the region as shown below.

Chloride levels have increased significantly over recent years but are still at relatively low levels as shown on the chart below. The source of this increase is likely road salt.

Page 8 of 20 Chlorophyll-a, which is a measure of primary food production (algae), has been declining and remains low at all the lakes as shown in the charts below.

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For additional data and charts for these and the other waterbodies that have been sampled you can download and review the two databases discussed above.

Page 10 of 20 Frank asked about the algal blooms seen in Black Lake, and why they are developing with the lower productivity levels. Dave admitted this was a bit of a puzzler. Ron Dulak mentioned the work done monitoring Stony Creek. It was asked if recent declines in mussels could increase productivity. Dave said that is possible, although it was mentioned that this season there were a large number of mussels present along the shore of Black Lake.

Grand Lake 2019 spring index trap netting results for smallmouth bass and walleye (Tim Cwalinski, MDNR)

Tim mentioned the recent history of anglers reporting fairly large numbers of wounded smallmouth bass observed in Grand Lake, and the inevitable questions about the possible effect on the overall population of smallmouth bass. DNR Fisheries Division personnel surveyed Grand Lake in the spring to compare those results with past surveys. In addition, this was a good opportunity to determine the current size structure of Grand Lake walleye and possibly make comparisons with previous surveys.

The nets were set during the period of May 13-31 when the water temperature was from 50-59 0F. A total of 63 trap net sets and lifts were completed.

As shown in the slide below, a review of the previous studies showed that the best comparison would be the work done in 1995.

The smallmouth bass results are below:

Page 11 of 20 The smallmouth catch of both legal and sublegal size individuals was down this year compared to the 1995 survey. The sublegal bass were especially low.

The chart above shows the occurrence of the various size bass caught in the trap nets for the three survey periods conducted over the years. As mentioned above, the 1995 survey with blue bars should be compared to the 2019 survey with green bars. Generally, bass abundance is still plentiful but lower when compared to past surveys. The current bass population is probably more in line with the food resources that are available. The decline in smaller size bass was most apparent. Grand Lake representative Dennis Fauver said some visitors came to fish the lake for bass but did not stay the entire time planned due to poorer than expected fishing success.

No evidence for fish-pathogenic viral infections were observed in the examined smallmouth bass, and no viruses were isolated during laboratory virological analyses from a sample of 26 fish. . Overall, no findings of major concern were observed. .

As shown below the walleye catches, especially 13 and 14 inchers, increased over previous surveys.

Page 12 of 20 The slide below shows the length-frequency of walleye was skewed toward smaller fish. Overall, walleyes were abundant with multiple year classes and good reproduction, so stocking is not needed. The size being skewed toward smaller fish is likely caused by higher metabolic rates because of the warmer water during the summer in this relatively shallow lake. Many walleye lakes with larger fish have deeper oxygenated

water that provide a cool summer refuge.

In the past there was a 13-inch minimum size limit for walleye in Grand Lake. With the dominance of smaller fish in Grand Lake, would a switch to a 13-inch minimum size limit be of interest if that option was made available in an updated walleye plan for the state? Something to think about down the road, if that regulation becomes an option.

Fall electrofishing summaries for juvenile walleyes at Inland Waterway Lakes (Tim Cwalinski, MDNR):

Tim described the DNR’s fall electrofishing program. The survey is done at night using DC electric current that stuns the fish as shown in the boat below.

Page 13 of 20 The goal is to evaluate the number of juvenile walleye at the end of the growing season. This index provides a measure of reproduction success but is best suited for comparing the same lake over the years. It is not unusual to have lots of variation in the results from year to year.

Tim first presented the Long Lake, Alpena County results. There were small fingerling and fry stocking events in 2005 and 2006. In many years there have been periodic fall fingerling stocking by the Association at low rates of less than 1 fish per acre. Before the fish were stocked each year in the fall, a juvenile survey was completed first to determine the extent of the wild contribution earlier in the spring. The survey in 2014 was a big year, but this year was lower, around 7 per hour as shown below, but still an acceptable catch rate.

Black Lake was next, and Tim showed the long-term history of survey results. This year was a non-stocking year, and some wild fish were found, but it was at a lower level compared to stocking years, but slightly higher than in past non-stocking years. Spring fingerlings were stocked in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2018.

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Mullett Lake has had good natural production for several years and this year was a little lower, but decent. Walleye fingerlings were stocked 2010-2013 with marginal returns except in 2013. There was strong natural reproduction from 2014 through 2016. There was good to acceptable natural reproduction from 2017-2019. The years where no results are indicated below with no bars, no surveys were conducted.

Burt showed another strong year class of walleye, similar to last year and 2016. The results in 2017 are unknown because no survey was completed. Burt has been very consistent over the years and is a benchmark that other lakes are often measured against.

Page 15 of 20 Crooked Lake numbers were very low this year. Six miles of shoreline was shocked in 2019 and no age-0 walleye were captured, which indicates a poor year class. However, 16 walleye 1 year old and older were captured. Bill Parson’s crew of the Band (LTBB) has done many surveys of Crooked Lake, but it has been a few years since they completed one. Bill’s crew also does a large number of juvenile surveys on other lakes, including Charlevoix, Birch, Paradise, and Douglas lakes. The results over the years for Crooked Lake are shown below.

Overview of recent findings and future directions of the Inland Waterway sterile male sea lamprey experiment (Dr. Nick Johnson):

Nick began by explaining the life cycle of sea lamprey: dying after spawning, young living in the sediments for years, transforming into the parasitic adult form in the lakes and killing up to 40 pounds of fish in their lifetime.

After the sea lamprey hatch in a stream they can live for several years as larvae in the sediment. An assessment was conducted in the Inland Waterway streams during 2015 and it was estimated that 155,000 larvae were in the Pigeon River, 170,000 in the Sturgeon River and 50,000 in the Maple River. A lampricide treatment was applied to these streams during 2016. Another larval assessment was conducted during 2017 and 10,000 larvae were found in the Pigeon River, 11,000 in the Sturgeon River and 3,500 in the Maple River. This was much less than the amount found during 2015 but was still significant.

When the number of adult spawning sea lamprey are at low levels, releasing sterile males to spawn with viable females will negate reproduction. Males to be sterilized were collected below the Cheboygan Dam and the needed amount was obtained for 2017-18. Numbers obtained were lower in 2019 so much fewer sterile males were stocked/released in 2019 as shown below.

Sterile Male Release Pigeon River: 1,300 (2017-2018); 250 (2019) Sturgeon River: 1,300 (2017-2018); 800 (2019) Maple River: 1,000 (2017-2019)

During 2019, another larval assessment was conducted to determine if the released sterile males had any impact on reducing the production of larval sea lamprey to very low levels. Compared to the 2015 assessment, the larvae

Page 16 of 20 were only reduced 20% from 155,000 to 124,000 in the Pigeon River. The results were much better in the Sturgeon River with a 99% reduction from 170,000 to 2,000 larvae and there was a 100% reduction of sea lamprey larvae produced in the Maple River from 50,000 to 0. Because of this significant reduction it has been proposed that only the Upper Pigeon River will have to be treated with lampricide during 2020.

Because the remaining adult sea lamprey drop down into the lakes in the Waterway to feed on larger fish, a wounding rate has been estimated which is shown in the table below. It is important to add that releasing adult

sterile males in the Waterway does not have any further impact on fish populations through wounding. Adult sterile males have one intention, which is to attempt to breed. After this, they die just like a Chinook or Coho salmon.

Steve Philips catches many fish each year with his grandkids and he keeps record of the wounds he finds. Mullett Lake wounding rates appear low from the data above. Nick has received more calls recently concerning feeding lamprey in the lakes within the Inland Waterway.

The sterile male treatments should not be expected to replace lampricide treatments altogether, but can be used to supplement lampricide control so that the lampricide is not needed as often, fewer miles of streams need to be treated and there are fewer larvae prior to treatments.

What is the Future for 2020-2023?

 Propose to continue the sterile male release technique  Propose to treat the Upper Pigeon with lampricide during 2020  Investigate transformer trapping  Expand the sterile male releases up to 12 other streams in the Great Lakes

Below is a photo of a trap used to catch sea lamprey transformers. One will be deployed at the mouth of the Sturgeon River and another at the M-68 Bridge crossing on the Pigeon River.

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Roger Bergstedt, previous manager of the USGS Hammond Bay Biological Station and with many years of experience dealing with sea lamprey in Lake Ontario, explained the history behind the investigation of lamprey telemetry, with no sea lamprey observed going past the Cheboygan dam. Lamprey in the Inland Waterway were typically smaller than the average size of those that fed in the Great Lakes, indicating that the population might actually be a land-locked population in low abundance.

Compared to all the Great Lakes streams, often has the largest return of sea lamprey. Nick explained that lamprey do not strictly return to the stream where they were produced but are attracted by the chemicals released from the larvae in the streams. There could be a large amount of this chemical being released from the lamprey upstream of the Cheboygan Dam.

Sterile males were also used effectively in the Black Mallard River system recently. Sterile males might work best if used in combination with an effective trap that reduces the adult population and then the added sterile males will be more effective in reducing the overall number of sea lamprey larvae produced.

Cormorant update – Randy Claramunt Lake Huron Basin Coordinator:

Randy mentioned that in 2016 the Depredation Order that authorized the Cormorant Control Program in Michigan and other states was vacated by a court ruling. Since then, we have been frustrated with the federal response to our pleas to formulate a rationale strategy to balance fish and bird concerns. Congressman Bergman pushed a bill to allow the states to ignore the judicial ruling, but this bill did not get traction. Federal response was to plan meetings to talk about the subject. The DNR said there is plenty of documentation on the problem and we wanted action, not just asking people if they think there is a problem. There still has not been significant action on this front, despite promises that it would be addressed in August.

A recent meeting that Randy attended in the West brought together representatives from both the fishery and wildlife fields. Momentum is developing to continue working on a science-based model of balancing and managing the birds and the fish populations. Much work on this science-based approach was completed earlier with input from experts from many states but the heads of the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington have not responded.

Page 18 of 20 Randy outlined a framework that was developed for indexing fish and bird requirements that could be applied throughout the country to develop population goals. USFWS could utilize this methodology to apply universally to manage birds.

Frank mentioned that continual political pressure at the national level is needed to move this issue forward. Everyone interested should be communicating with their U.S. Senators and Representatives.

Roundtable

Long Lake: Tom Ludwig from the Long Lake Improvement Association reported that fishing was different this year. Spring fishing was bad, and relatively poor fishing continued into August, and then it went back to normal. Nothing observed in the stomachs of almost all walleye. The lake is getting clearer every year. There were some decent spotty catches of perch in a few areas occasionally. The fish derby in August had 67 fish registered in 6 hours; some walleye, bass, perch, bluegill. They stocked some bluegills about ten years ago and several are caught each season. There have been decent reports of fishing on the installed brush piles. They post GPS coordinates of the structures in their newsletter, but the structures are small, and some folks have difficulty finding them. It was emphasized that MEGLE permits are required for installation of these structures.

Muskies: J.P. Van Ostenberg from the Michigan Muskie Alliance is planning an outing for 15-20 boats somewhere up in this area. They are planning to continue posting the “know the difference between pike and muskellunge” signs where they are needed. Tim asked that muskellunge anglers should remember to look for tags in caught muskies and report them to the DNR.

Black Lake: Ron Dulak from the Black Lake Association said fishing was off this year.

Black River Marina : The Black River marina is open, but not finished yet. A temporary launch has been installed and much of the old infrastructure has been removed. Work will continue to progress over the coming year.

Ocqueoc watershed/area: Nick Johnson had a great year ice fishing with his kids this year with plenty of nice bluegills and crappies.

Emily Martin, DNR Tribal Coordination Unit: She assisted the Bill Parson’s LTBB crew with fish surveys on Douglas Lake and Lake Charlevoix. She also helped the Gaylord crew as well.

Loon Lake, Hale : Jim Mortimer from Loon Lake located near Hale was impressed with the way the citizens at this meeting work with DNR. He has a sense that the fishery is declining on their lake and is looking to investigate the situation further. He will contact the new Southern Lake Huron Unit Manager to discuss the potential of starting a similar committee for the lakes in his area.

Crooked Lake : Wayne Blomberg, from the Pickerel-Crooked Lakes Association, observed many cormorants on the lake and was interested to hear the update from Randy. Averaged 200 birds for the month of May on Crooked Lake. Tim said cormorants were heavy on Grand Lake this year as well.

Burt Lake : Jim Burke and Dave Steenstra from the Burt Lake Preservation Association mentioned that the fish are bigger this year. The walleye are chunky but fewer sublegals were caught. Seems like a lot of food out there. Not as many residents fished on Burt Lake compared to years ago. The Association sent out a bass tournament survey to members and received 500 responses. Issues identified included:  Fishing in proximity to docks and boatlifts  No wake violations  Lack of respect and often bad language is used  Incorrectly interpreted regulations, by Lake association members  Too many tournaments  Bass spawning beds disappearing, this has changed over the years.

Page 19 of 20  Congested access sites Dave Steenstra believes the fishing in close proximity to docks is a major problem expressed by many residents. Mullett Lake: Tim relayed the fishing diary of Steve Phillips, including 489 pike, fewer bass, and fair numbers of walleye. Brad Kessel indicated perch fishing was not as good as last year, but walleye fishing was good. Not as many pike were seen this year. He is seeing a lot of small perch around 3-4 inches. Marty Jones was catching smaller pike than Phillips, 309 of them.

Grand Lake: Anglers have been seeing lots of small perch throughout the season but now some larger fish are being caught. Dennis Fauver has stepped down as president of the Grand Lake Sportsmen Club. People have pulled their boats out, and now fishing is improving. An update was given on the launch upgrade partnership with Presque Isle Road Commission. They are pleased with the outcome.

Tip of Mitt Watershed Council: Dave Edwards reported that their databases are being updated, shoreline restoration efforts are continuing, and septic tank point of sale checking initiative may happen.

Line 5 Pipeline: Suggestion: could we get that representative to attend at the next meeting?

3:30 Meeting Adjourned

Next meeting, Mullett Lake Area Preservation Society will pay for the room. Tim and Frank will establish the 2020 meeting dates before the end of the year and notify everyone on the email mailing list.

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