TOPIC:

The following is a news release from the DNR. On the silver lining side - 168K is more than what has been stocked. Also, it's good the DNR is being up front about the deficit. Waddayagonnadoo? On the dark side ... oh, so many.

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Wisconsin provides Chinook salmon eggs for Indiana’s stocking program

The Indiana DNR recently received 168,000 Chinook salmon eggs thanks to a partnership with the Wisconsin DNR.

Chinook salmon are highly prized by anglers, and the species makes up a significant portion of the fish stocked into Indiana’s Lake Michigan waters. Indiana does not have the infrastructure to spawn Chinook salmon, so the DNR relies on partners in other states for eggs.

Kept at Mixsawbah State Fish Hatchery, the Chinook eggs will be hatched and raised until spring 2021, when fingerlings will be stocked.

“Partnerships are crucial for our Lake Michigan program, and we’re very grateful to Wisconsin DNR for going above and beyond to get these eyed eggs,” said Rob Ackerson, hatchery manager at Mixsawbah State Fish Hatchery.

Hatchery managers refer to newly fertilized eggs as green eggs. Several weeks after fertilization, the eyes of the salmon embryo become visible, signaling the egg is viable. At that point, the eggs are referred to as eyed eggs.

Although Wisconsin harvested enough green eggs to meet Indiana’s egg request, an unusually low number of viable eggs has resulted in shortages. Wisconsin was only able to provide Indiana with enough eyed eggs to meet just over half of Indiana’s production goal of 225,000 Chinook salmon. By the time the poor eye-up was determined, it was too late to obtain more eggs from any source, because the Chinook spawning run had ended.

“While we’re disappointed to not have our full complement of Chinooks for the 2021 stocking year, we’ll continue to roll with the punches this unpredictable year has delivered,” said Ben Dickinson, Lake Michigan biologist for Indiana DNR. “We will make Indiana’s Lake Michigan fishery the best we can with the cards we’re dealt.”

What happened to our partnership with Michigan? Doesn't Michigan have two sites that they collect from?

In the "old days" didn't we "Indiana" collect our own eggs?

Not trying to be snarky, but perhaps the returns to former egg collection sites are so paltry they can't be reliably used.

Unless the stocking numbers are increased significantly it probably doesn't matter. Stocking 225,000 chinook smolts hasn't resulted in a fishable return in recent memory. We might be better served giving our allotment of smolts to stocking sites in Michigan where they have a chance to survive and try to catch them as they pass through in the spring. Our spring Chinook stocking has become the definition of insanity.

I agree - give them to St Joe. Less than an hour drive from Portage.

So Ben,,,

How many smolts that actually get stocked will we get from this group of eggs??

Actually, last year's run (perhaps better called a drizzle) came from 60K stocking as will the 2021 run but this time at Portage instead of Trail Creek.

Don't give them to St. Joe. Has anyone actually caught an Indiana-stocked king in the Indiana section of the St. Joe? All I ever hear of is some steelhead going that far.

BNature wrote:

Actually, last year's run (perhaps better called a drizzle) came from 60K stocking as will the 2021 run but this time at Portage instead of Trail Creek.

Mike,
don't bet any money on next years run in Portage. It will be a drizzle if any,, due to the small amount of 2 year old fish that did make a showing in Portage this fall. They split and went west as well as east. So next year will be watered down. As far as I know, we have never stocked the west branch but they continue to run that way.

BNature wrote:

Don't give them to St. Joe. Has anyone actually caught an Indiana-stocked king in the Indiana section of the St. Joe? All I ever hear of is some steelhead going that far.

I asked at the HCC/DNR meeting this spring if Indiana stocked kings were being caught anywhere on Lake Michigan and all I heard was laughter. Was trying to determine if our Chinook Stocking efforts were a benefit to anyone. Thought maybe the wire coded tags would show up occasionally somewhere. To my knowledge the Trail Creek Weir is left open so we have no idea how many fish returned if any.
Addendum: The information I have says the last Chinook stocking (153,520) by Indiana in the St Joe was in 2001.