MANISTEE --
There's good news for anglers for Manistee Lake.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources reports the lake has "healthy game fish populations". The Status of the Fishery Resource Report is good news for anglers and the tourism business.
"Manistee Lake is an amazing resource and fishery" said report author, Mark Tonello, a Fisheries Management Biologist with the Central Lake Michigan Management Unit of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. "There have been 155 Master Angler Awards issued for twenty-two different species caught in the lake since 1994, ranging from chinook salmon and brown trout to walleye and bluegill to channel catfish, freshwater drum and rock bass. The lake is one of our most productive and diverse fisheries, offering something for everyone twelve months out of the year."
Based on the most recent DNR creel census data, Tonello said that the estimated number of angler trips on Manistee Lake varied from 20,378 to 7,054 per year, consuming angler hours ranging from an estimated 73,787 to 20,030 hours annually.
"The lake is critically important for recreation, tourism and economic development," Tonello said, "and it is also a resource that provides important habitat for a number of species, including the lake sturgeon, a state-threatened species."
Adult lake sturgeon use Manistee Lake as a staging area for spawning runs and both adult and juvenile lake sturgeon live and feed in the lake at different times of the year.
The Manistee River/Manistee Lake population of lake sturgeon is one of the largest found on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.
Since 2004, Fisheries staff from the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians have operated a lake sturgeon rearing facility on the Big Manistee River at the Rainbow Bend access site. The report points out that Manistee Lake and the Big and Little Manistee River tributaries support large seasonal populations of certain fish species that migrate from Lake Michigan.
"People are generally aware of the large migrations of chinook and coho salmon and steelhead into the Lake and up the rivers," Tonello said. "But they may not know that other migrating species move back and forth between Lake Michigan and Manistee Lake as well, like yellow perch and walleye. "Just as we want to encourage everyone to use and enjoy the Manistee Lake resource, we also want to remind people to be good stewards of our land and waters," Tonello said.
Wetland protection, watershed management, and sound management of the diverse uses of the lake are identified in the Report as important to the long-term health of the lake's aquatic community.
The report also supports Manistee County's Explore the Shores program that has two sites on Manistee Lake, at the Arthur Street Boat Launch and the Stronach Boat Launch as ways to ensure access to the lake's fishery to people of all ages, needs, and abilities.
Both sites were made possible by a grant from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust to the Alliance for Economic Success.
"The effort has already enhanced the ability of anglers of all persuasions to access the outstanding fisheries that Manistee Lake has to offer," the report says. "Hopefully these efforts will continue, and even more universal access will be provided in the future."
You can view the Manistee Lake Status and Fishery Report by CLICKING HERE.
Other reports for Manistee County waters are available through the DNR by clicking on THIS LINK.
If you would like to try your luck on the lake check out our Fish & Game Report.
