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By Louie Stout
Anglers are reminded that the 2018-19 fishing license expires March 31 in Indiana and Michigan so you will need a new one beginning April 1.
In Indiana, annual resident licenses are $17 and non-resident $35. Senior licenses (residents only) are $3. Trout and salmon anglers also will need an $11 trout stamp.
In Michigan, residents will pay $26, seniors $11 and non-residents $76. Those licenses include all species.
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By Louie Stout
Magician Lake Proposals on Public Meeting Agenda; Report on Magician Walleyes
Got a question, suggestion or complaint you’d like to share with Southwest Michigan fish managers?
You’ll get that opportunity April 8 at the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery. The hatchery is at 34270 County Lane Road, Mattawan, Mich. 49071, located about an hour north of Edwardsburg.
The session runs from 6 p.m.-8 p.m.
The informal gathering is part of the DNR’s “Coffee and Conversations” with state officials.
Not only will biologists be on hand to discuss any issues that concern you, but they will also outline regulation proposals and stocking changes they are considering for southwest Michigan. They’ll be discussing inland lake fisheries as well as Lake Michigan issues.
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By Louie Stout
Webster Muskies on the Rebound
Tiny ‘PIT” tags are inserted into young muskies before they are stocked into Webster Lake. When fish managers return to take brood stock each spring, they scan each fish they net to check for tags that provide information on growth rates, survival and whether the muskies they capture are stocked fish or naturally reproduced. (Indiana DNR photo)
Jed Pearson is eager to see what he finds in nets at Webster Lake when his DNR fisheries team starts collecting adult muskies for the hatchery in the coming weeks.
The biologist hopes he’ll see more young muskies as he and anglers did last year. If he continues to find juveniles mixed in with big ones that would be a good sign that DMR fish management changes continue to produce good results.
In case you weren’t aware, 774-acre Webster Lake in Kosciusko County historically has been one of the Midwest’s best muskie fisheries.
However, the population diminished to only a few big muskies about four years ago, prompting DNR officials to revise their stocking and hatchery methods.
Webster, along with other Hoosier muskie lakes, is totally reliant on hatchery-raised fish and stocking efforts.
Pearson is optimistic that the Webster muskie fishing is on the rebound.
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By Louie Stout
Lake Michigan Biologist Brian BreidertIt’s time, said Lake Michigan Biologist Brian Breidert, to begin a new chapter of his life.
The 39-year Indiana DNR biologist retired last week after spending the last 18 years heading up the DNR’s Lake Michigan fisheries team in Michigan City.
No replacement has been named as yet. Breidert’s assistant, Ben Dickenson, will serve in that role until an announcement is made.
“We have a good crew here that can pick up where I left off,” said Breidert, a 62-year-old Iowan who has made his home in Indiana since joining the Indiana DNR in 1979 as a seasonal worker.
Biologists come and go in both Indiana and Michigan DNRs, but this particular job isn’t one of those simple plug-and-play positions.
Dickenson has had a good mentor and will fill in nicely. Even so, Breidert’s steady hand at the wheel of a delicate fishery will be missed.