Title: RECREATIONAL FISHERY IN LAKE SUPERIOR
1RECREATIONAL FISHERY IN LAKE SUPERIOR
- Don Schreiner, MNDNR
- Steve Schram, WIDNR
- Shawn Sitar, MIDNR
- Mike Petzold, OMNR
2History of Recreational Fishing
- Native Americans first anglers subsistence
- Commercial fishing began - fur trade subsidized
- Commercial families started resorts began sport
fishing
3History of Recreational Fishing
- Much of first angling experience was from
shore/stream - Fly fishing
- Elite class of anglers
- Superior Fishing-Robert Barnwell Roosevelt-1865
- First charter captains were commercial fisherman
4 History
- Increased access roads
- New harbors/marinas
- WW II
- Sea Lamprey
5 History
- Sea lamprey control
- Introduced Pacific salmon
- Larger/safer boats
- New electronics/technique
6Characteristics of Fishery
- Stream fishery in spring and fall
- Targeted at introduced salmonids
- Lake fishery relatively near shore - summer
- Bottom bouncing and jigging for lake trout
- Planner boards for salmon
- Bays and estuaries - seasonal
- Cool water species, splake, brown trout
7Waters of Lake Superior
Bays
0-240 ft (0-80 meters)
240 ft ( 80 meters)
8Creel or Angler Surveys
- Pressure angler hours
- Number of fish harvested or caught
- CPUE catch per effort or no. of fish/angler hr
9Status Creel Surveys
- Wisconsin 1972 2000 May 1 Sept. 30
- Minnesota 1972 2000 Memorial W.E. Sept. 30
- Michigan 1987 2000 Standard sites May 1
Sept. 30 - Ontario Intermittent selected sites - diaries
10Pressure in U.S. Waters of Lake Superior
11Percent Pressure Among States in Lake Superior
1972-2000
Michigan estimate is from 1987-00
12Salmonids Caught in U.S. Waters of Lake Superior
13Salmonid Catch by Agency in U.S. Waters of Lake
Superior
14Trends in Catch of Major Salmonids in U.S. Waters
of Lake Superior
15Distribution of Major Salmonids in Catch from
U.S. Waters of Lake Superior 1990-2000
16Distribution of Major Salmonids in Ontario Waters
of Lake Superior 1987-1999
17CPUE for All Salmonids in the U.S. Waters of Lake
Superior
18Pressure and CPUE for All Salmonids in the U.S.
Waters of Lake Superior
19CPUE for Salmonids in Lake Superior Recreational
Fishery
20CPUE for Major Salmonids in Lake Superior by
Agency
21Number of Charter Captains in U.S. Waters of Lake
Superior
22Comparison Between Overall Sport and Charter CPUE
for U.S. Waters of Lake Superior
23Comparison of Charter CPUE Among States
24Estimates of Fishing Pressure in Days Among Upper
Great Lakes
From Bence and Smith (1999)
25Comparison of Salmonid CPUE Among Upper Great
Lakes for Salmonids
26Comparison of Charter CPUE Among Upper Great
Lakes
27Mean Size of Major Salmonids Caught Among Upper
Great Lakes
Estimates for L. Huron from 1990-1998, L.
Michigan from 1995-1997, L. Superior from
1990-2000. For each lake, data were from
lake-wide creels
28Mean Catch Composition Among Upper Great Lakes
L.Huron Estimates from 1986-1998, L.Michigan
Estimates from 1991-2000, L. Superior Estimates
from 1990-2000
29Summary Upper Lakes Recreational Fishery
- Fishing pressure much lower on Lake Superior
- CPUE of sport and charter fishery for Lake
Superior equal to or greater than in Lakes
Michigan and Huron - Catch composition dominated by lake trout in L.
Superior, chinook salmon in L. Huron and rainbow
trout in L. Michigan - Average size of all fish smaller in L. Superior
30Summary Lake Superior Recreational Fishery
- Fishing pressure has decreased since late 1980s,
while catch rate has increased - Annual catch of all salmonids averaged
approximately 70,000 fish from 1990 - 2000 - Average CPUE is 0.15 for all salmonids from
1990-2000 - Approximately 67 of catch composed of lake
trout, 17 coho and 8 chinook salmon