It’s simple math really: Zero eggs equals zero fish for future stocking programs.
So, the spring walleye and steelhead egg collections by the Michigan DNR are critical components of the strategy for maintaining world-class fishing opportunities in the Great Lakes State.
Nearly fifty years have now passed since the first paddletail swimbaits splashed down in U.S. waters, the earliest designs having likely originated in France. Today, paddletails have almost singlehandedly rewritten the rules of soft plastics engagement. Fans of catching bass, crappie, walleye and inshore slams nearly always cast these ingenious tail-driven baits, each version capable of different retrieve speeds, actions and the almighty thump.
Gamakatsu has announced a proprietary new finish for their most popular hook styles.
By Louie Stout
If you’re looking for safe ice to fish this weekend, it’s out there.
But man, you gotta be careful.
Reports coming in from area bait and tackle shops indicate several anglers are getting out and catching fish, but not every frozen water you see is safe.
Ice thicknesses range from very little to about 5½ inches. Channels, ponds and protected bays seem to be the safer bets, but everyone is advised to proceed with caution.
“It’s all dependent on the lake,” says Steven Szymczak of Clear Water Tackle in Edwardsburg. “Here’s an example…guys were getting out on Eagle earlier this week but Juno (right next to Eagle) still had open water.”
Pat Hamilton of D&R Sports in Kalamazoo said some of the lakes around his area have 2 to 3 inches, but that’s mostly in the channels and on small, wind protected lakes or bays.
It’s about the same west of Elkhart.
By Louie Stout
When dealing with hatchery fish, you’re at the mercy of Mother Nature.
A lot of things can go wrong.
Like this year.
The Indiana Fisheries Division learned recently that Wisconsin will not be able to meet the 225,000 king salmon eggs it agreed to provide Hoosiers due to a hatchery issue.
Indiana will get 168,000 instead.
Wisconsin harvested enough green eggs to meet Indiana’s egg request but an unusually low number of viable eggs has resulted in shortages.
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.
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