Saginaw Bay Fishing Booms - Walleye, Perch Gain From Lack of Alewives
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A young angler displays a big grin and a huge walleye caught in Saginaw Bay.
Decline of alewives has perked up both perch and walleye fishing in Saginaw Bay after several years of slow action.
This scarcity of adult alewives has created problems for growth of Chinook salmon in Lake Huron but greatly improved survival of newly hatched walleye fry in the bay, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
In fact, the DNR reports that the number of young walleye in the bay has increased by about 2,100 percent.
Similar gains in production of yellow perch have also been documented recently, according to the DNR. Unfortunately the perch are not surviving as well as the walleye are and benefits to that fishery are less certain.
AuGres Bill reports hundreds of boats fishing off shore at AuGres and a high catch rate of perch and walleye.
"This is the time to take a youngster fishing," said the Sage of Saginaw Bay. "They'll catch so many fish they'll never forget it."
The DNR reports that while the perch have not yet spawned, they have apparently moved offshore.
"The spring perch run has started with good numbers of perch being taken off docks," reports Jim Diedrich and Hoyle's Marina, a hotspot off Linwood. Walleye action also is reported good from Hoyle's to the mouth of the Kawkawlin River in 8-10 foot depths.
Anglers also will want to target the shallow waters near the mouth of the Quanicassee River or the waters around Spoils Island.
Small yellow perch have been caught in the lower section of the Quanicassee River. Boats are trolling near the mouth and catching fish as well.
Suckers and yellow perch are being caught in the lower Sebewaing River while fair to good sucker action was reported near Crescent State Park in the Pinnebog River.
The DNR reports that adult alewives have become very scarce in Lake Huron since 2003, causing profound changes to the fish community of the Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay. In the Bay, the absence of adult alewives, which are predators on newly hatched walleye fry, has led to greatly increased production of walleye.
The Saginaw Bay Walleye Recovery Plan calls for interruptions to stocking when three or more predominantly wild year classes have beencreated. This level was achieved in 2005. Now the DNR is proposing to not stock the bay in 2006 and instead use fingerling walleye for stocking in inland locations. Further stocking underthis current situation is believed to have little or no benefit to the bay's walleye population. The DNR is proposing to continue to monitor the situation and resume stocking if and when adultalewives become abundant again.
The DNR report states: "Full recovery of walleye in Saginaw Bay will someday be one of the great achievements in natural resource stewardship in Michigan. When and if this will occur, however, will likely hinge on what happened to alewives in Lake Huron. Their future is unclear at present. This is why these walleye stocking changes are designed to be flexible and adjust with changes that will likely come in future years. Public comment will be accepted until April 30, 2006.
"Adult alewives use Saginaw Bay as a spawning and nursery ground. This brings the adults into the bay each spring at the same time newly hatched walleye fry are emerging from the rivers.Although the adult alewives are there for spawning, they continue to feed and are believed to impact walleye and other species by feedingon and competing with the fry. One of the reasons walleye stocking has proved useful in the bay over the years is because they are too large in size, and late enough in the spring to be vulnerable to predation by alewives.
"By using the October catch rate of adult alewives in the annual trawl samples performed by the Great Lakes Science Center in Lake Huron, we can make a prediction about how many YOY walleye will be produced the following spring in Saginaw Bay.
"Based on this relationship, another year of strong walleye YOY production is predicted for 2006.
In addition, the DNR is proposing that decisions about walleye stocking in the bay be made on an annual basis using the alewife prediction equation. Walleye fingerling stocking would still occur in years when adultalewife abundance is predicted to be high but not to be stocked in years when alewife abundance is estimated to be low and hence good walleye natural reproduction is expected."
The receive the report "Strategy and Options for Completing the Recovery ofWalleye in Saginaw Click Here.
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