A Sport Fishing Creel Survey of the Illinois Portion of Lake Michigan
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ILLINOI S UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN PRODUCTION NOTE University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Large-scale Digitization Project, 2007. J/vHS5 )fba HIeH y &survey Lta y C/)^ ,) ILLINOIS Aw, _-__ _ NTI M Am I am TA rlmJL 1 m0 Am--& m . TITTIn-m m . - mimu DVQRIlL, 9mN 1I rjL ~.AL lXr J LJAk AY -.P . 1a% SURVEY A Sport Fishing Creel Survey of the Illinois Portion of Lake Michigan Aquatic Biology Section Technical Report W. H. Horns and R. W. Gorden ,C".- , I- ..* ^.\ Annual Performance Report F-52-R2 Aquatic Biology Technical Report 88/2 Illinois Natural History Survey Aquatic Biology Technical Report 88/2 A SPORT FISHING CREEL SURVEY OF THE ILLINOIS PORTION OF LAKE MICHIGAN 1 April 1986 through 31 March 1987 Annual Report, F-52-R by William H. Horns and Robert W. Gorden Aquatic Biology Section, Illinois Natural History Survey to Division of Fisheries, Illinois Department of Conservation William H. Horns Robert W. Gorden Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator and Head, Aquatic Biology Section January 1988 Abstract A sport fishing creel survey of the Illinois portion of Lake Michigan was conducted between April 1, 1986 and March 31, 1987. The survey covered all sport fishing in the Illinois portion of Lake Michigan, with the exception of charter-boat fishing. It included pedestrian angling, fishing from boats, smelt fishing, snagging, and ice-fishing. The intent of the project was to provide reliable estimates of sport fishing activity, sport fish harvest, expenditures for sport fishing, and the quality of sport fishing. Total fishing effort for all categories of fishing exceeded two million angler-hours, with over half of that attributable to summer pedestrian angling. The estimated total harvest included 1,779,242 yellow perch, 10,163 brown trout, 10,582 rainbow trout, 1,896 lake trout, 117,798 coho salmon, 32,808 chinook salmon, and 1.5 million rainbow smelt. Estimated expenditures for boats, motors, trailers, fishing gear, and automobile gas exceeded $10 million. The yield value of the Illinois sport fishing harvest was approximately $3.8 million. This survey was conducted under a memorandum of understanding between the Illinois Department of Conservation and the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. The research was performed by the Illinois Natural History Survey, a division of the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources. The project was supported by funds made available through the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act and administered by the Illinois Department of Conservation. The form, content, and data interpretations made in this report are the responsibility of the University of Illinois and the Illinois Natural History Survey, and not that of the Illinois Department of Conservation. ii Table of Contents I INTRODUCTION ............................................. 1 Geographic Setting ............................................................................ .... 1 Distribution of Fishing ...................................................................... 1 Pedestrians and launched boats ................................................ 1 Moored boats ................................................................ 5 Ice-fishing .................................................................. .......... ... 5 Snagging ............................................................... .............. ...... 5 Smelt fishing .................................................................. ......... 5 II METHODS ........................................................................................ 6 Summer Pedestrians and Launched Boats ........ ................................ 6 Use of primary fishing areas .......................................................... 6 Selection of dates in a stratified random sample .......... ......... 6 Data collection .............................................................................. 7 Variables measured for each date ............................................ 7 Expansion of daily estimates ................. ....................................... 8 Extrapolation to other sites .................. ... .................................... 8 Moored Boats ................................................................................. 8 Winter Fishing ....................................................................... ........ 9 Smelt Fishing ................................... ........ 10 Yield Values .................. ... .............................................................. 11 Missing Data ............ ....................................... ...... ........................... 11 III RESULTS ................................................................................ .... 12 Summer Pedestrian Fishing ........... .. ............... ... 12 Fishing by Boaters Using Launched Boats .......................... 12 Fishing by Boaters Using Moored Boats ..................................... 12 Winter Fishing ....... .... ................. ............................... 13 Smelt Fishing ...................................................................... .......... 13 Yield Values .................................................................................... 13 Minor Species .............................................. .............. .................... 13 IV REFERENCES ...................................................................................... 26 V APPENDIX A - SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS AND FIN CLIPS .......................... 27 VI APPENDIX B - DATA FORM AND INSTRUCTIONS TO CLERKS ................ 43 VII APPENDIX C - PROJECT F-52-R-1 PERFORMANCE REPORT .................. 47 Job 1. Census Design .......................................................................... 47 Job 2. Interviews and Instantaneous Counts ........................ ............. 47 Job 3. Aerial Counts ................................................. ................. .... 47 Job 4. Fishing Contest Survey ............................................................. 47 Job 5. Smelt Fishing Census ............................................................. 48 Job 6. Moored Fishing Boat Activity .................................................... 48 Job 7. Fishing Expenditures ................................................................. 48 Job 8. Growth and Diet of Sport Fish .................................................. 48 Job 9. Data Computerization .................................................................. 49 Job 10. Analysis and Reporting ........................................................... 49 iii Table of Figures 1. The Illinois shoreline of Lake Michigan ........................................... 2 2. Distribution of pedestrian anglers and boat trailers ........................... 4 3. Smelt fishing effort and catch rates at Montrose Harbor ................... 10 4. Weight distributions of brown trout during five time periods ........... 31 5. Weight distributions of coho salmon during five time periods ............ 32 6. Weight distributions of chinook salmon during five time periods ....... 33 7. Length distributions of brown trout during five time periods ........... 34 8. Length distributions of coho salmon during five time periods ........... 35 9. Length distributions of chinook salmon during five time periods ...... 36 10. Interview form ..... ... ...... ................................................................ 44 iv Table of Tables 1. Distribution of fishing ................................... .... ................. 3 2. Distribution of moored power boats ......................*.*0*........*. .... 5 3. Effort and catch by pedestrian anglers ............................................. 14 4a. Catch-per-angler-hour by pedestrian anglers (4/1 - 7/13) .............. 15 4b. Catch-per-angler-hour by pedestrian anglers (7/14 - 10/5) ............ 16 5. Expenditures by pedestrian anglers ........................................ ........ 17 6. Effort and catch by anglers using launched boats .......................... 18 7. Catch-per-angler-hour by anglers using launched boats ................. 19 8. Expenditures by anglers using launched boats ................................ 20 9. Effort and catch by anglers using moored boats ............................. 21 10. Expenditures by anglers using moored boats ................................. 22 11. Effort and catch by winter anglers .................................................. 23 12. Expenditures by winter anglers .................................................... .. 24 13. Yield values ............ ................................ ........................................... 25 14. Seasonal average weights (pounds) of six species .......................... 28 15. Average weights (pounds) of six species caught by boaters .......... 29 16. Average weights (pounds) of three species caught by pedestrians 30 17. Occurrences of fin clips in salmonids caught by boating anglers .. 37 18. Occurrences of fin clips in salmonids caught by pedestrians ......... 38 19. Occurrences of clips in fish caught by snaggers ............................ 39 20. Listing of salmonids with one or more clipped fins ......................... 39 V I INTRODUCTION On March 31, 1987, we completed the second year of a continuing creel survey of sport fishing in the Illinois portion of Lake Michigan. This creel survey covered all sport fishing in the Illinois waters of the lake, with the exception of charter-boat fishing. We were interested