May 20, 2002

   Michigan DNR Fisheries biologists have started a tagging study on the Muskegon, and 4,700 walleyes were shocked, tagged and released in the river in the last three weeks, between Croton and Maple Island. These fish will be tracked for many years to come in the fishery.  Tags have an address to send the information to, including size, date and where the fish was caught. The division will send you the history of that fish, as well as a $10 reward for some of them. If they are reward fish, it will say on the tag. The fish does not need to be kept, you may record the tag number and info and release it.

   Survey operations consist of electrofishing for about one week in late March or early April, simply to take walleye

eggs for the walleye program. The fish are collected and

brought to the shore crew, who will spawn and fertilize them. The fish are then put back into the river, and the eggs are taken to Wolf lake Hatchery to be hatched. When the walleyes are 3 days old, they are put into rearing ponds all around the state. At approximately 1˝" in size, they are then stocked into Michigan lakes.

   The Muskegon is the brood source for much of the state. Eggs are also taken from Little Bay De Noc, and the Tittibiwassee River.  About 500,000 of the 1˝" fish will be put back into the Muskegon system in June when the fish are harvested from the ponds.

   DNR fisheries biologists are surveying St. Joseph River walleyes in Elkhart and St. Joseph counties. Walleye survival and growth information gleaned from the study will help biologists better tailor future St. Joe walleye stockings.

   On March 20, biologists captured 61 walleyes below Elkhart Dam. Sampled fish were all males ranging from 13 to 19" long. Researchers will be looking for larger females as the river water warms.  "During spring, walleyes tend to move upstream to spawn. That's why they concentrate below the dam. Male walleyes are the first to show up and spawning in the St. Joe typically peaks in early April," said DNR biologist Neil Ledet.

   Ledet and his crew captured the fish with an electrofishing boat that temporarily stuns fish and allows them to be netted. Once weighed and measured, the fish were released unharmed back into the river. Joe Foy, City of Elkhart fisheries biologist, is also tagging some of the larger walleye before they are released in order to track their movements. Anglers are urged to report tagged walleye by calling (574) 293-2572.  The tags look like short pieces of plastic spaghetti.

   Since 1995, the Indiana DNR has annually stocked about 65,000 walleye fingerlings into the St. Jo above 

Elkhart Dam. Over the past four years, 35,000 additional walleye fingerlings were also stocked into the Twin Branch river section in Mishawaka.

   Ledet says young walleyes have a tendency to move downstream, so the majority are stocked above Elkhart to offset their movement.   The DNR also conducts a fall survey when young walleyes move into shallow sections of the river.

   Anglers seeking walleye usually do well early or late in the day fishing in eddies near swift current. "One of the most productive baits is a lead-head jig with a white or chartreuse plastic grub body," said Ledet. "If the action is slow, tip the jig with a minnow or bounce a minnow along the bottom using a single hook and 2 or 3 size split shot sinker."

   Elkhart city parks provide easy access to several walleye areas on the St. Joe and lower Elkhart River.  The St. Joseph River has a special size limit on walleye.  In cooperation with Michigan, a 15" minimum size limit and a six-fish bag limit has been established for walleye taken from the St. Jo. Indiana does not have a closed season on walleye.  However, many anglers voluntarily release female walleyes at this time of year.  

   An investigation of federal scientists who submitted inauthentic samples to a national lynx survey found a lack of scientific rigor and poor judgment but no criminal intent a report by Inspector General Earl E. Devaney, released by the Interior Department on March 1^st. The report said the Department of Justice declined to prosecute the Fish and Wildlife Service biologists, who said they sent hair samples from a captive lynx and a pelt to test a lab's ability to identify lynx hair using DNA testing.

   The employees, whose names have not been released, were counseled for what the report called "a pattern of bad judgment," but Mr. Devaney recommended "more meaningful punishment" and additional administrative action against other employees in the regional office and headquarters.  "The policy decision by FWS to administer 'corrective action' in lieu of meaningful punishment displays a cultural bias against holding employees accountable for their behavior," Mr. Devaney said.

  In plain language, it’s another coverup for somebody trying to skew facts with their own diabolic intent.

Scouts lose United Way funds over gay ban

At least 39 United Way affiliates around the country have stopped direct community funding of the Boy Scouts to protest the Scouts' ban on homosexual leaders.  These decisions affected 10  to 15 % of the average income of Boy Scouts groups, and they've totaled millions of dollars.  But the United Way chapters that have chosen to stop giving money directly to the Boy Scouts represent less than 3 % of the 1,400 United Way chapters.  A United Way spokesman says the trend involving United Way affiliates cutting funding for the Boy Scouts is winding down.

However a study shows that groups that have cut off funds are in liberal college towns. The list includes United Way chapters in Boston; Seattle; Ann Arbor; New Haven, Conn.; San Francisco; Providence, R.I.; Evanston, Ill.; Tucson, Ariz.; Santa Fe, N.M; and late last month, in Madison, Wis., 

The Boy Scouts policy has been found to be legal, according to a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.