GOSHEN — Results of a survey conducted among Lake Michigan anglers won’t make fish managers decision any easier when it comes time to make stocking cuts.    

Earlier this spring, fish managers presented a grave situation that has developed on the lake: a dwindling forage base poses the possibility of a crash in the fishery.    

Studies show that alewives have dropped dangerously below the lake’s carrying capacity.

In other words, there are too many mouths to feed.    

Biologists blame king salmon, a voracious feeder that has been naturally reproducing fish in addition to what the states already stock.    

So, back in May, fish managers asked anglers which of four options they preferred.

While biologists leaned toward an across-the-board, 50 percent cut in king stockings, anglers want a more selective and cautious approach.    

The two most popular options they chose in the survey were: option 2, a 50 percent reduction in 2013 with more cuts if weight of age-3 king salmon is below 15.4 pounds, or increase stocking if weight of age-3 kings is above 17.6 pounds; and option 4, that calls for a 30 percent reduction in kings plus a 10 percent reductions in coho, steelhead, and brown trout for 2013, with more cuts if weight of age-3 kings is below 15.4 pounds, or increase stocking if weight of age-3 kings is above 17.6 pounds.    

Indiana biologist Brian Breidert said lake officials will meet in July to determine which way they will go.    

Option four is doable, he added, but it creates problems in hatchery logistics and scheduling. While kings are in the hatchery for only six months, the other species are held for a year or more.    

“By making a 50 percent cut in kings only, we will see (forage base) results within a year or two,” he explained. “To make fewer king cuts and cuts in other species, the impact won’t be realized for a few more years because of the way we have to manage the hatchery space and timing of when those fish go in.”

Duke’s bridge    

Ernie Bontrager of the Travel Tender in Goshen passes along an explanation as to how the new bass regs will affect anglers at the Waldon Chain, also known as Duke’s Bridge.    

Last month, the Indiana DNR imposed a new bass size limit for rivers and streams that is different than that of lake size limits. Since the Elkhart River runs into the Waldron Chain, anglers were confused as to which regulations would apply.    

Bontrager said that he contacted DNR officials who have told him that the river to the west of the submerged dam on the west end of the chain will be enforced under the river bass size limit. The lake size limit will take precedent from the dam east throughout the lakes.

Benefit tourney    

Lake Drive Marina will host the Bernie Behnke Scholarship Bass Tournament on Coldwater Lake Aug. 19.     

Entry fee is $80 and tournament hours are 7-3. Door prizes will be available. Proceeds will go to a scholarship presented to a high school student working toward a degree in the outdoors industry.    

For more information, call Jeff at Lake Drive Marina, (517) 238-4651.

Dove survey    

An upcoming survey will ask dove hunters in Indiana and across the U.S. to share their experiences and opinions about dove hunting.    

Topics will include time spent hunting, demographics, constraints to hunting, and thoughts about potential effects of lead from spent ammunition on mourning doves and other wildlife.     

The National Dove Hunter Survey is scheduled to begin in late June and be completed by the end of the year. The survey will be mailed to a random sample of dove hunters.    

“We really hope each dove hunter who receives a survey takes the time to complete and return it in the postage-paid envelope provided,” said Ken Richkus of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Population and Habitat Assessment Branch, in an Indiana DNR press release. “Their answers are very important, and we appreciate their efforts to tell us what they think.”    

The National Dove Hunter Survey will give the USFWS a picture of mourning dove hunter thoughts and needs by state, region and nationwide, Richkus said.    

Hoosier hunters harvest more doves than any other species in Indiana, typically around 200,000 annually. The birds are hunted in Indiana by more than 10,000 hunters.