To return tagged fish to Indiana DNR, anglers can take the head (only the top half of the head, see the red circled area in the attached photo) of Chinook salmon and lake trout. Anglers should only save heads from fish that have a tag, which are identified by the missing adipose fin. The following is very important: to be of use to the DNR and USFWS, we need the following data for each individual head: the date caught, the port where fishing, and the species. Length of fish would also be nice, but is not required. Without this information the heads are not very useful to us in identifying movement patterns, growth, survival of stocked fish, and number of wild fish. The easiest way to keep everything straight would be to put each individual snout in its own numbered plastic bag, and on a separate sheet of paper, record that number along with the date and location and species, and freeze it. This will allow an angler to collect multiple heads and then whenever convenient, bring in their heads to the Indiana DNR office at 100 W Water Street, Michigan City. If the angler provides their contact information (email preferred) when dropping off the heads, I personally will make sure it gets in the database, and then when the tag return info comes back in February and March, I can email the summary of where their fish came from.
If some anglers want to take this to the next level, Michigan Sea Grant has a program called Salmon Ambassadors. They have printed datasheets and instructions, and ask anglers to record the length of every Chinook caught, along with the fin clips. Their contact information can be found here:
www.miseagrant.umich.edu/explore/fisheries/salmon-ambassadors/. They are looking for more participation in the south end of the lake.
If anybody has questions they can email me at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We really appreciate angler involvement in this wide-scale and very exciting tagging program, and if anybody has questions about how the tagging program works or what information we’ve produced from it, I would be happy to take the time to answer them.
