The steelhead was 26.62 lb, 38 inches long with a 23 inch girth. It was caught on Trail Creek June 23, 1999 by Evan Nicholson of Bridgman, Michigan using a red yarn fly. The fish broke a nine year state record.

The fish fought Rullman for 1 1/2 hours over 220 ft of water about 10-11 miles into Lake Michigan. He and a friend were trolling spoons 110' down when the 42 1/2-incher struck. The girth was 28".

Illinois fisheries biologist Rich Hess said the laker may be well over 20 years old. It had a left pectoral fin clip used by state biologists back in 1975 to mark stocked lake trout.

The old Illinois lake trout record was 37 1/2 pounds, set in 1995.

"Even this year's salmon are getting big," Hess noted. "Fish we planted in May at 5" now are being caught at 15 and 16". That's a remarkable growth rate."

Out to 275' of water on August 21, 1999, off Milwaukee, Wisconsin Captain Mike Pjevach of Leisure Time Charters set lines and began trolling north. Shortly after, yelling "fish on", first mate Glenn grabbed the bent over rod and handed it to John Sr. After netting the fish and placing it in the cooler nobody on board were sure what they had caught - a coho or king.

Luckily a DNR fish creel census taker was at the McKinley fish cleaning station. Amid a noisy debate by the ten or so fishermen who were present the creel census taker told Glenn to get the fish to a certified scale. Based on his count of the rays in the anal fin he suspected this fish to be a coho and a big one at that. Twenty six pounds by his scale.

The next day, WI DNR biologists Jim Thompson and Laurie, began the task of positively identifying the fish, yet here were two fisheries people who could not say for sure just what specie this fish was.

Dave, along with fellow club members Ed Morris and Paul Bell decided to join skipper Paul Schoenrade of the 'Eagle III' for this tournament. At the 6 a.m. start the winds were light and the seas were calm; a near perfect day for fishing. The Eagle III headed straight out to 150 feet of water. Finding few fish at that depth they soon moved back into shallower water. The move paid off as soon all three on board were taking turns fighting fish. Dave was waiting, working the back of the boat rigging lines and changing lures.

At the 2 p.m. 'fish call' the skipper reported the days catch of eight salmon, two of which would later prove to be master angler size cohos of over 14.5 lbs.. Paul reportedly said that there was a chinook (king) salmon that they estimated to weigh over 30 pounds which got away. It straighted a ball barrel swivel as they brought the fish up behind the boat. Luckily that wouldn't happen with the last fish of the day.

A rod that was set 70 feet down in 120 feet of water went off. The fish hit a black and white silver streak - commonly referred to as a Michael Jackson - that Dave himself had brought on board. The reel started screaming as line disappeared from the spool. "I'd let the other guys take the first eight fish," Staniszewski said. "I knew that this might be the last fish of the day, so I beat Ed to the rod. The fish took off and it was pure chaos. It then managed to get tangled in all the other lines we had out. We used cutters to clear those lines away from mine so I could keep reeling."

Once the fish was on board the crew knew it was something special. However, none of them yet believed that the large specimen was a coho. The fish was kept alive in the live well and arrived at the clubs weigh-in in perfect condition. The club scales registered the weight at just a fraction under 29 pounds. The fish was immediatly taken to Insta-Launch in Manistee where an MDNR official certified the fish to be a pure coho having 14 rays in the anal fin and white gums. It was not a chinook-coho hybrid. "It was 38 1/2 inches long with a 27-inch girth," Staniszewski said. "It was really beautiful; bright silver on top and white underneath".

That wasn't the only fish worthy of bragging about brought to the Steelheaders scale that day. Club member and past President Doug Karakas stated "There were about 15 to 20 Coho of master angler size weighed in. There were a good number of larger kings brought to the scales - as well as lake trout, steelhead and a few nice brown trout". One of those nice kings was a 29 pound fish taken on board Doug's boat, the 'Captain Hook II'. The Michigan waters of Lake Michigan have given up a number of large chinook, including a 38 pound fish taken off Manistee two weeks ago. The lake overall, from Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan has been producing good catches with the emphasis on the larger coho being caught in the north end of the lake.

Club member Captain Ron Huey had sent e-mail messages to other club members just prior to the Ludington tournament stating that he'd been having good luck at the port and telling of his own master angler coho catches. "The fishing here is the best I can remember in many years" Ron wrote. We can all only hope that it remains this way for many years to come. The state record coho is out there just waiting for someone to haul it in. And we can be sure that Dave Staniszewski will be one of the many who will be trying to land it.

The Detroit Area Steelheaders have a GLSFC web site at:
http://www.great-lakes.org/
mi/detroitsteelheaders/index.html

Attorney Grant Merritt said "I believe it is fair to refer to this lawsuit (by the IRBA) as the most comprehensive challenge relating to a General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Study for a National Park. We have discovered, documented and taken to Federal Court in Marquette, Michigan a National Park Service plan which violates its own rules and regulations as well as several major federal laws." Furthermore, said Mr. Merritt, who is very familiar with Isle Royale as a long-time visitor and life-lease holder of property on the Island, "I think we have laid out a compelling, indeed clear and convincing, case of government abuse and ineptitude. Our seven causes of action are presented in great detail.

We welcome a thorough review by a Federal District Judge of the stewardship, or lack thereof, by our government officials."

The suit describes how the plan is "arbitrary and capricious" in its intentional removal of docks, Adirondack-style camping shelters and a major Indian Portage Trail, all actions clearly without reasonable justification by the NPS. The removal of docks directly violates the United States Senate Report accompanying the 1976 law designating ninety-eight percent of Isle Royale as wilderness as required under the Wilderness Act of 1964. The Wilderness Act Report clearly states that continued maintenance of boat docks at Isle Royale is "essential to the continued ease of access as well as the health and safety of the visitors".

The suit describes how the plan is "arbitrary and capricious" in its intentional removal of docks, Adirondack-style camping shelters and a major Indian Portage Trail, all actions clearly without reasonable justification by the NPS. The removal of docks directly violates the United States Senate Report accompanying the 1976 law designating ninety-eight percent of Isle Royale as wilderness as required under the Wilderness Act of 1964. The Wilderness Act Report clearly states that continued maintenance of boat docks at Isle Royale is "essential to the continued ease of access as well as the health and safety of the visitors".

The NPS is also attempting to zone the Island with arbitrary imposition of restricted "Quiet/No-Wake" zones without defining the concepts they are following in limiting use by the public and, again, without reasonable justification for such drastic action. Dr. Rolf Peterson defended the trail that the NPS will remove in favor of maintaining the status quo during the public meeting and comment process. Dr. Peterson has continuously studied the wolves on Isle Royale for decades and as a world renowned wolf expert, he stated that removal of this trail from one end of Lake Richie to the other could negatively impact the island wolf population. The GMP never mentioned Dr. Peterson's opinion let alone refuted it.

Jim Markham, IRBA President and former part-time resident of Isle Royale says, "The IRBA was forced to sue the Park Service. The NPS signed the GMP into law as a Record of Decision. That Record of Decision set the GMP up as the guideline for management of the Island over the next fifteen to twenty years. The NPS ignored IRBA substantive comments on the GMP provided throughout the public comment period and the NPS has no appeals process in place, as do other federal agencies. Therefore, the only recourse by the IRBA was to sue the NPS for injunctive relief to stop them from implementing a flawed plan."

The lawsuit seeks a declaration by the Federal Courts citing that the GMP is faulty and in violation of federal laws. It asks that a Permanent Injunction against its implementation be ordered.

Additional plaintiffs joining in the lawsuit are the IRBA Executive Committee and frequent and long-time visitors to Isle Royale; James Markham, Fred Bieti, PE, John Kappler, MBA CPA, David Hand, Ph.D. and Ed Glowacki.

The Isle Royale Boaters Association, Inc. (IRBA), a not-for-profit organization located in Houghton, Michigan has more than 600 members contributing to its support. IRBA members extend from Connecticut, Florida and Texas but most are concentrated around the Western Lake Superior region in the States of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The IRBA says:
Our Mission is to Educate, Represent, and Promote the Interest of Power and Sail Boaters, Sport Fishermen, Canoeists, Kayakers, Backpackers, and all other Visitors to Isle Royale National Park".

Isle Royale, a remote island in northwestern Lake Superior, is located about 60 miles from Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula and 22 miles from Grand Portage, Minnesota. It is about 45 miles long and 9 miles wide and surrounded by about 400 small islands. Isle Royale was authorized as maritime national park in 1931.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Fred Bieti, Vice President and Legislative Liaison (906) 250-0092

John E. Kappler, Vice President and Treasurer (906) 296-9390