The fall fishing season for splake is coming soon! Splake fishing in the fall on Lake Superior is an experience unmatched anywhere else in the state. As temperatures drop and leaves begin to change, the splake bite picks up as the fish move nearshore.

Splake — a hybrid cross between lake trout and brook trout — have been stocked in Lake Superior most years since 1971, with annual stocking since 1990.

Marked splake have been stocked in Lake Superior since 2021 as part of an evaluation study. At the Marquette State Fish Hatchery, staff from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Lake Superior and Northern Lake Michigan management units, as well as staff from the Tribal Coordination Unit, put in long hours carefully marking the splake by hand. Splake are given a unique mark by clipping (and removing) part of either one or two fins. The fish are anesthetized during this process.

These fish are then stocked in the spring at three Lake Superior ports: Copper Harbor, Keweenaw Bay and Munising Bay. The goal is to create nearshore fishing opportunities in the smaller bays of Lake Superior, where some fisheries are available year-round. Read more

If you’re on the water in late September to early October, be on the lookout for Michigan Department of Natural Resources personnel conducting nighttime walleye recruitment surveys. Fisheries managers use these surveys to determine whether walleye that hatched in the spring (known as young-of-year) were born in the wild or were stocked, as well as how many are present in an area. This information about the status of young walleye in lakes helps the DNR make well-informed management decisions.

Using electrofishing boats at night, crews will survey shallow areas near the shoreline of lakes with the goal of capturing juvenile walleye. Walleye prefer cooler, deeper areas of lakes during the day but move into shallow, nearshore areas at night, making nighttime surveys more efficient. On larger lakes, two or more electrofishing crews using separate boats may operate at the same time to cover more area. The crews will work on a subsample of Michigan lakes that have been stocked with walleye, as well as lakes that have not.

Biologists also collect and keep a sample of young-of-year walleye from stocked lakes to determine whether the fish are primarily reproducing naturally or if young-of-year are from stocking. All other walleye will be released unharmed. Walleye that are stocked in these lakes are marked with oxytetracycline, a chemical marker that can be observed within captured fish by using a microscope with an ultraviolet light source in a laboratory setting. Read more

Gov. Hobbs proclaims Sept. 5 “Apache Trout Day”

The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD), alongside conservation leaders, Gov. Katie Hobbs, and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, recently celebrated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) decision to remove Apache trout from the federal Endangered Species List.

The delisting announcement was made by Secretary Haaland at a special event in Mesa on Sept. 4.

Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a proclamation to celebrate the delisting of Arizona’s state fish and designate Sept. 5 as “Apache Trout Day.”

“The recovery of Apache trout is a culmination of more than five decades of hard work and the cooperation of many partners, and it’s truly an amazing conservation success story,” said AZGFD Director Ty Gray.

Apache trout, one of only two native trout species in Arizona, were found in streams across the White Mountains in east-central Arizona before their populations began to rapidly decline during the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. The White Mountain Apache Tribe was the first to recognize the loss of this critical species and took steps to protect them on tribal lands. Read more

Critical repairs to the Cheboygan Lock, managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and located in the city of Cheboygan, will prompt the early closure of this seasonal facility.

The lock closure will begin at 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, with an anticipated reopening date of May 17, 2025.

During the same period, the adjacent Lincoln Street Boating Access Site also will temporarily close because it will be used as a staging area for construction materials and equipment.

“Due to necessary repairs, the Cheboygan Lock will close earlier than usual this year,” said Kevin Taylor, Cheboygan Field Office supervisor for the DNR Parks and Recreation Division. “These upgrades are essential to maintain the safe operation of the lock and ensure future access to the Inland Waterway and Lake Huron.” Read more