GOSHEN — A committee of Lake Michigan fish managers have decided to cut king salmon stockings by 50 percent each of the next three years.

The announcement came this week in the wake of studies that show alewife populations have dwindled to dangerous levels while king populations appear to spike due to natural reproduction in some streams.    

No other trout/salmon stocking will be cut despite some talk of reducing other species as well.    

The good news for Hoosiers is Indiana will be sparred drastic cuts whereas Michigan and Wisconsin will bear the brunt of the cutbacks.    

Under the agreement, the 3.3 million kings currently stocked annually into Lake Michigan would be reduced to 1.7 million fish. Michigan would stock 1.1 million fewer since its streams contribute the majority of the natural reproduction.

Wisconsin would reduce its stocking by 440,000 fish, while Illinois and Indiana would reduce by 20,000 and 25,000 fish, respectively.

Indiana has averaged stocking 225,000 kings in recent years.     

“We are pleased with the outcome,” said Lake Michigan biologist Brian Breidert, noting that Indiana could have taken a bigger hit. “Indiana and Illinois are small players in the Lake Michigan scene, and the fact that Wisconsin and Michigan have agreed to absorb the bulk of the cutbacks shows that everyone is playing together.”    

The plan kicks off in September when the states begin collecting salmon brood stock and eggs.    

Ironically, the announced cutbacks come on the heels of one of the best king salmon seasons on Lake Michigan in recent years.    

While kings are highly dependent on alewives, all Great Lakes salmonids eat them, too. Fish managers believe that balancing predator and prey populations by reducing predation pressure is necessary to stabilize the ecosystem as well as to preserve the quality and diversity of the multi-billion-dollar sport fishery.

Along with the proposed reductions, an adopted monitoring plan should allow management agencies to react quickly if conditions change.

Frank to speak at Steelheaders    

Mike Frank of Dialed-In Charters will discuss salmon fishing at the Michiana Steelheaders meeting Wednesday night. The meeting is open to the public.    

Frank will share tactics for catching kings from Lake Michigan and the St. Joseph River. The program begins at 7:30 at the De Amicis Club in Mishawaka, 302 W. 11th St.

Indiana offers new new deer license ‘bundle’    

A new deer license bundle is expected to make the process easier for Hoosier hunters.     

With the bundle, one license can be used in multiple seasons. The bundle can be used in youth, archery, firearms, muzzleloader, and special antlerless seasons, and allows for the harvest of one antlered and two antlerless deer. All legal equipment that can be used in these seasons may be used with the deer bundle, including crossbows.    

Cost is $65 for residents, $295 for non-residents, and $65 for non-resident youth.    

The bundle cannot be used to satisfy urban deer zone bag limits nor can it be used to take bonus antlerless deer on DNR properties during neither the special antlerless deer season nor during any regular deer season, except where authorized. See the Indiana Hunting and Trapping Guide or contact the DNR property you wish to hunt for exceptions.    

You can buy the bundle Buy the bundle at any Indiana Outdoor license retailer.

Venison workshop set for LaGrange    

The Indiana DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife and Purdue Cooperative Extension Service will host a venison workshop series in LaGrange, Ind.     

The workshop will teach participants how to skin, butcher and prepare a deer properly as well as food safety and handling procedures, plus an update on deer health issues.     

The LaGrange workshop is slated for Sept. 12 from 6-9 p.m. at the LaGrange County Fairgrounds. Adult admission is $15; children 17 and younger are free.     

You can register by calling (260) 499-6334.

Deer reduction at nature preserve    

St. Joseph County Parks will continue the deer management program at Spicer Lake Nature Preserve in New Carlisle Nov. 17-18.     

To emphasize deer population reduction, the management program will be an antlerless hunt only.   

Five hunters will be selected by a lottery to participate. Hunters must possess a valid Indiana Deer License and a minimum of one Antlerless Tag.     

Applications for the lottery are on the St. Joseph County Parks web site and must be received by the end of the work day Friday October 12, 2012.    

Spicer Lake consists of 320 acres, much of which is wetland. The kettle lake harbors a number of threatened plant and animal species. The park staff has noted a decrease in key indicator plant species such as trillium and sweet cicely correlating to an increase in the white-tailed deer population.     

More information and Hunter Application Forms are available at www.sjcparks.org.

Crowmell anglers win at Manitou    

Jason Weiricks and Ken Baxter (Cromwell, Ind.) won at Lake Manitou to claim their second straight victory the Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Tournament Series Lake Manitou event by only .01 pound. 

The winners’ five-bass limit weighed 8.46 pounds, eking them past Rochester anglers Mitch Hayes and David Tofson.     

Rich Miller and Brandon Ketchum (Portage, Ind.) were third with 8.42 pounds.    

Weiricks and Baxter also won the Travel Tender Bait and Tackle Big Bass Award with a 3.25-pound largemouth.     

The next tournament the Burt’s Body Shop Bass Bonanza at Lake Maxinkuckee Sept. 8. For additional information contact Mike Goins at 574-298-0208.



To contact Louie Stout or for more detailed outdoors news, visit www.michianaoutdoorsnews.com.