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 Over 90 politically involved, concerned and avid anglers participated in a meeting on the status and future of smallmouth bass fishing in Illinois' waters of Lake Michigan last month. And they handed DNR Fish Chief Mike Conlin and his Lake Michigan staff a surprise when they voted overwhelmingly to go to a catch and release only program. Caught up in the emotional surge of wanting a trophy bass fishery in their back yard, 85 of 90 avid anglers rejected the DNR proposal of a 3 fish, 14" size limit. The DNR proposal would allow the smallmouth bass fishery to mature and grow to full size, and it seemed to be supported by the data presented at the meeting. What many woke up to the next day is the fact most angling groups, non-aligned anglers and the general public do not support a mandatory catch and release program for Lake Michigan smallmouth bass. The general public may perceive the proposal as locking the public out of a lakefront fishery, for a handful of avid anglers. For more information about fishing opportunities in Illinois visit Fish Illinois |
 "Based upon the data we have collected to date, it appears that the fishing pressure on the Lake Michigan smallmouth is relatively light and is not yet having much if any impact upon the fishery." according to Mike Conlin, IL DNR Fisheries Chief. Trophy fisheries are not created in urban areas with a population of four million plus, said Dan Thomas, president GLSFC, a trophy bass catch and release fishery is usally designated in a smaller inland lake where it can be better controled and properly managed. Illinois anglers have until January 19th to comment on the proposed rule change, to comment on the rules, contact Jack Price, IDNR, 524 S. Second St., Springfield, IL 62701-1787 or phone 217/782-1809.
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Charter Captains hope to protect steelhead from preying Commorants.
Oswego Chamber of Commerce and Oswego-area
charter-boat captains are teaming together to protect steelhead stocked in the Oswego River next
spring from predation of commorants.
A net pen project is underway, said Charter captain and GLSFC member, Gerry Bresadola.
"Something's been wrong up here (in Oswego)," Bresadola said, "because
we're not seeing the steelhead come back to the river like we used to.
We don't know why and neither does the Department of Environmental
Conservation."
Net pens, which have been tested with some success in Lake Michigan, are
designed to boost the survival and spawning returns of trout and salmon
because they orient new plants to the surrounding water, and protect them against predation.
Many Oswego-area guides, watched in dismay last
spring while a flock of cormorants tore into a batch of steelhead that
had just been released in the river.
The cages, will be built by a group of Oswego-area
charter-boat captains and lowered into the water near the river mouth.
They'll serve as halfway houses for baby steelhead en route from the
state hatchery at Altmar to the open water of Lake Ontario.
To learn more about fishing for steelhead in Oswego County visit the Oswego County web site.Learn more about the Rise of the Double-crested Cormorant on the Great Lakes.
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About 8,500 steelhead will go in them. That's about half of the total
number that the state plans to stock in the Oswego River.
The 6-inch yearling steelhead will be transferred from hatchery tanker
trucks to the sunken cages in May. They will stay there for about a
month.
Then the net pens will be towed out into midlake, where the fish will be
released, safe from the prying eyes of cormorants and other predators.
The net pens to be used in the river are about 20 feet long by five feet
wide and six feet deep. Their frames can be made of either aluminum
tubing or PVC pipe, and the mesh is a synthetic cord with quarter-inch
openings. Up to 5,000 steelhead can fit in a single pen.
Guides and other volunteers taking part in the project will feed the
fish while they're in the cages, using DEC trout chow.
The project will cost an estimated $3,500. Money will come from the
Oswego Chamber of Commerce and proceeds from the 1997 Oswego County
Pro-Am fishing tournament, Bresadola said.
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