WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES CREEL SURVEY REPORT TROUT LAKE VILAS COUNTY 2013-14 Treaty Fisheries Publication Compiled by Jason Halverson & Jeff Blonski Treaty Fisheries Technicians CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................. 1 GENERAL LAKE INFORMATION ..................................................................................... 2 Location ........................................................................................................................... 2 Physical Characteristics ................................................................................................... 2 Seasons Surveyed ............................................................................................................. 2 Weather ............................................................................................................................ 2 Sportfishing Regulations .................................................................................................. 2 SPECIES CATCH AND HARVEST INFORMATION ........................................................ 2 CREEL SURVEY RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .............................................................. 3 Survey Logistics ............................................................................................................... 3 General Angler Information ............................................................................................. 3 SPECIES INFORMATION ................................................................................................... 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................... 4 SUMMARY TABLES Table 1. Sportfishing effort summary .................................................................................... 5 Table 2. Creel survey synopsis ............................................................................................... 6 SPECIES CATCH AND HARVEST INFORMATION Gamefish Figure 1. Walleye ............................................................................................................. 7 Figure 2. Northern Pike .................................................................................................... 8 Figure 3. Muskellunge ..................................................................................................... 9 Figure 4. Smallmouth Bass .............................................................................................. 10 Figure 5. Largemouth Bass .............................................................................................. 11 Figure 6. Lake Trout ........................................................................................................ 12 Other Species Figure 7. Cisco or Lake Herring ...................................................................................... 13 Figure 8. Lake Whitefish ................................................................................................. 14 Panfish Figure 9. Yellow Perch .................................................................................................... 15 Figure 10. Bluegill ........................................................................................................... 16 Figure 11. Pumpkinseed ................................................................................................... 17 Figure 12. Rock Bass ....................................................................................................... 18 Figure 13. Black Crappie ................................................................................................. 19 Cover Art: Steve Hilt, Minocqua, WI Fish Graphics: Virgil Beck, Stevens Point, WI INTRODUCTION March, except during the month of November when fishing effort is low and ice Fish populations can fluctuate due to conditions are often unsafe. The survey is natural forces (weather, predation, run during daylight hours, and shift times competition), management actions (stocking, change from month to month as day length regulations, habitat improvement), changes. inappropriate development (habitat Creel survey clerks travel their lakes degradation), and harvest impacts. using a boat or snowmobile to count Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources numbers of anglers on a lake at fisheries crews regularly conduct fishery predetermined times, and to interview surveys on area lakes and reservoirs to anglers who have completed their fishing gather the information needed to monitor trip to collect data on what species they changes, identify concerns, evaluate past fished for, catch, harvest, lengths of fish management actions, and to prescribe good harvested, marks (finclips or tags), and fishery management strategies. Netting and hours of fishing effort. Collecting electrofishing surveys are used to gather data completed-trip data provides the most on the status of fish populations and accurate assessment of angling activities, communities (species composition, and it avoids the need to disturb anglers population size, reproductive success, while they are fishing. size/age distribution, and growth rates). But A computer program is used to make the other key component of the fishery that projections of total catch and harvest of each we often need to measure is the harvest. species, catch and harvest rates, and total On many lakes in the Ceded Territory of fishing effort, by month and for the year in northern Wisconsin, harvest of fish is total. Keep in mind that these are only divided between sport anglers and the six projections based on the best information Chippewa tribes who harvest fish under available, and not a complete accounting of rights granted by federal treaties. The tribes effort, catch, and harvest. Accurate harvest fish mostly using a highly efficient projections require that we sample a method, spearing, during a relatively short sufficient and representative portion of the time period in the spring. Every fish in the angling activity on a lake. The accuracy of spear harvest is counted – a complete creel survey results, therefore, depends on “census” of the harvest. good cooperation and truthful responses by We also measure the sport harvest to anglers when a creel clerk interviews them. assess its impact on the fishery. But because You may have encountered a DNR creel it would be highly impractical and very survey clerk on a recent fishing trip. We costly to conduct a complete census of every appreciate your cooperation during an angler who fishes on a lake, we conduct interview. The survey only takes a moment creel surveys. of your time and it gives the Department A creel survey is an assessment tool used valuable information needed for to sample the fishing activities of anglers on management of the fishery. a body of water and make projections of harvest and other fishery parameters. Creel This report provides projections of: survey clerks work on randomly-selected 1. Overall fishing effort (pressure) days and shifts, forty hours per week during 2. Fishing effort directed at each species the open season for gamefish from the first 3. Catch and harvest rates Saturday in May through the first Sunday in 4. Numbers of fish caught and harvested 1 Also included are a physical description Fishing Regulations of Trout Lake; discussion of results of the The following seasons, daily bag limits, survey; and detailed summaries, by species and length limits were in place on Trout of fishing effort, catch and harvest. Lake during the 2013-14 fishing season: Bag Min. GENERAL LAKE Species Season Limit Size Largemouth Bass& 5/4-6/14 Catch&Release INFORMATION Smallmouth Bass 6/15-3/2 1 18" Trout Musky 5/25-11/30 1 45" Lake Northern Pike 5/4-3/2 5 none Walleye 5/4-3/2 2* 15" Panfish year round 25 none Rock Bass year round none none Lake Trout 5/4-9/30 1 30" * Due to tribal harvest declarations, walleye bag limits were set at 2 for Trout Lake. SPECIES CATCH AND Location HARVEST INFORMATION Trout Lake is located in Vilas County Angling effort, catch, and harvest south of the town of Boulder Junction. information is summarized for each species Physical Characteristics in Table 2 and Figures 1-10. Table 2 also Trout Lake is a 3,816-acre drainage lake includes a comparison of these statistics with a maximum depth of 117 feet and a with the previous creel survey. Information mean depth of 49 feet making it the largest presented about species whose fishing and deepest lake in Vilas County. Littoral season extends beyond March 2 should be substrate consists primarily of sand, gravel, considered minimum estimates. Each and rubble, with lesser amounts of boulder species page has up to five graphs depicting and muck. Trout Lake is moderately fertile, the following: with slightly alkaline water of high clarity. 1. PROJECTED FISHING EFFORT Seasons Surveyed Total calculated number of hours The period referred to in this report as during each month that anglers spent the 2013-14 fishing season ran from May 4, fishing for a species. 2013 through March 2, 2014. The open 2. PROJECTED SPECIFIC CATCH water creel survey ran from May 4 through AND HARVEST RATES October 31, 2013 and the ice fishing creel Calculated number of hours it takes survey ran from December 1, 2013 through an angler to catch or harvest a fish of March 2, 2014. the indicated species. Only Weather information from anglers who were Ice-out on Trout Lake was around May specifically