MANISTEE COUNTY, MI – Maintaining Michigan’s world-class fishery is a big job.
It involves fishing regulations, habitat management, addressing invasive species – and rearing and stocking fish.
On Tuesday, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources plans to begin its spring collection of steelhead trout eggs at the Little Manistee River Weir. The goal is to collect 4.5 million eggs that will be stocked in Great Lakes tributaries in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.
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The public is invited to watch the first step in rearing and stocking this premier sport fish, which is popular among anglers both on the open water of the Great Lakes and in tributary streams.
Egg taking is tentatively scheduled for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 15, 16, 17, 22 and 23, at the weir, 3858 Old Stronach Road in Stronach Township. (The dates could change depending on the ripeness and number of fish present.)
The Little Manistee River Weir stops the upstream migration of steelhead trout each spring and chinook salmon each fall. The fish are diverted into the egg-take facility for the egg-taking operation.Justine Lofton | jlofton@mlive.com
Since 1968, the Little Manistee River Weir has served as the sole source of winter-run steelhead eggs for fish hatcheries in Michigan and the main source for Ohio and Indiana. Thompson State Fish Hatchery and Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery will receive 3.7 million eggs this year for eventual stocking throughout Michigan. Ohio and Indiana will each receive 400,000 eggs.
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Yearling steelhead produced through hatchery operations are stocked in select tributaries of all the Great Lakes. Ohio stocks in Lake Erie tributaries while Indiana stocks in southern Lake Michigan tributaries.
DNR egg-take operations begin with the lowering of the weir grates by mid-March. This stops the upstream steelhead migration in the Little Manistee River and diverts the fish into holding ponds. Fish usually ripen during April and egg-take operations begin, continuing until the egg quota has been reached.
During egg-take operations, unripe or “green” steelhead (those that are not yet ready to reproduce) are held in maturation ponds or counted and passed upstream to sustain the wild Little Manistee River steelhead run.
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Steelhead that are spawned during operations also are passed upstream – and many eventually return to Lake Michigan – as this species is capable of spawning multiple times. Once the quota of eggs is reached, the weir grates are removed, and all remaining fish are allowed to migrate upstream.
No steelhead are stocked by DNR in the Little Manistee River. The run consists mostly of naturally reproduced fish and strays from other rivers.
The Little Manistee River Weir is used to collect steelhead eggs each spring and Chinook salmon eggs every fall. Egg-take operations are always open to the public.
