More trout and salmon pushed into Indiana waters this week while deer continue to die of the EHD virus.

Coho Jumping BarrierTrout/salmon: Oddly enough, there have been as many coho coming through the South Bend ladder the past few days as there have been steelhead.

Fish can be seen jumping the barrier at Trail Creek and at the South Bend dam.

“We counted 17 steelhead and 17 coho in the ladder this morning,” said Bodine Hatchery Manager Dave Meuninck. “The river temperature is down in the 60s, so we should see continued movement.”

Lake Michigan biologist Brian Breidert said a lot of coho also are being passed at Trail Creek in Michigan City and several can be seen jumping the sea lamprey barrier there. The kings have appeared in the lower river but haven’t reached the barrier/fish trap as yet.

The coho are generally small, running 2 to 4 pounds.

Due to vegetation clogging the ladder, hatchery managers only close it for a short period each morning, long enough to gather adult steelhead for brood stock. It’s open the rest of the time.

Current fall-run fish counts taken from videotapes weren’t available yesterday.

Dead deer: Meanwhile, dead deer counts continue to climb across southern Michigan and there have been new reports of dead deer in northern Elkhart County.

Crane Pond Game Area officials in Jones, Mich. say they’ve received 20 more dead animal reports from Cass County, Mich. with possible outbreaks in Volina and Penn Townships. There have been 50 new reports in Michigan’s St. Joseph County, several near the Indiana border.

That might explain the phone calls that Indiana wildlife biologist Linda Byer received this week of dead deer in northern Elkhart County near Bristol, Ind. However, Byer said, those dead animals could not be confirmed as having EHD because they had been dead too long. However, the deer appeared were found near water, which is typical of EHD-inflicted deer.