Late fall Lake Erie steelhead hen that could not resist a Nagy Steelie Rock Worm caddis larvae pattern.
On November 13, 2015 the Lake Erie water temperature (degrees F) off Toledo was 49, off Cleveland was 55, off Erie was 54 and off Buffalo was 52.
News Around the Great Lakes
and Lake Erie Regions
Asian Carp
Michigan Congresswoman Candice Miller and Senator
Debbie Stabenow introduced federal legislation in February (2015) called the Defending Our Great Lakes Act to slow the spread of invasive
species such as Asian Carp through the Chicago waterways into Lake Michigan and
the Great Lakes.
Federal legislation introduced last year in congress
to provided complete hydrological separation of the Mississippi River basin and
the Great Lakes (as recommended in a study by the U.S. Army Corps. of
Engineers) stalled in congress last year due to high costs (estimated to be $15
billion) and conflicts among interests groups including conservation groups and
the shipping industry.
The new legislation would allow the Corps to install
electric barriers, underwater sound cannons, carbon dioxide bubble screens and
pheromones to stymie the movement of Asian Carp upstream. Scientist believe
that the voracious Asian Carp could have devastating effects on the $7 billion
sport fishing industry in the Great Lakes .
Biologist have already confirmed the presence of
Asian Carp DNA in the Chicago Area Waterway System and Lake Michigan . They believe, though, if there
are a few fish in the Lake Michigan (or in close proximity to it) it is not likely they will reproduce. The
key at this stage is to keep their populations down to inhibit any natural
reproduction.
Sea Lampreys
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) and its
control agents including the United States Fish & Wildlife Service
(USF&WS) and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DF&OC)
continue to apply the Integrated
Management of Sea Lamprey (IMSL) program in Lake Erie . This program annually assesses sea lamprey populations, selects streams
for lampricide treatment and implements alternative sea lamprey control
methods.
The increased sea lamprey population in Lake Erie has traditionally been
documented by wounding rates on lake trout in Lake Erie . 2014 NYDEC lake trout wounding
rate data was 3 times above target levels in 2014. Sea lamprey nest counts and
spawning phase sea lamprey trapping data has also indicated a high population
of sea lampreys in Lake Erie .
Numerous sea lamprey larval assessments were done by
the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USF&WS) in the Lake Erie watershed (in
2014) to search for new populations of sea lamprey and to monitor existing
populations in 36 tributaries including one offshore area in Lake Erie.
A new population of larval sea lampreys was found in
Big
Sister Creek , NY Niagra River
A total of 5,816 adult sea lampreys were captured at
6 trap sites (5 tributaries) in 2014. The estimated number of adult sea
lampreys in Lake Erie during 2014 was 14,577 which was much greater than the desirable target
range of 3,800 (plus or minus 1200).
All sea lamprey caught in adult assessment traps in Lake Erie tributaries were scanned for
coded wire tags. The tags are part of a 2012-2015 mark-recapture study by the
USF&WS to determine if marked sea lampreys released in the St. Clair River
can survive and be recaptured in eastern Lake Erie . In 2014, tags were collected
from 10 lampreys (3 released in the St. Clair River, 7 released in Lake Erie tributaries). Analysis of the
mark-recapture study data will be done by USF&WS during the winter of 2015.
Sea lamprey control plans in 2015 include lampricide
treatments for 7 Lake Erie streams including: Canadaway, Conneaut and Raccoon Creeks, Paint River Clinton River Cayuga River Buffalo River Thames River Ontario ). The Paint, Cayuga, Big Sister
and Komoka will receive first time treatments.
USF&WS field crews also plan to visit
lamprey barrier sites on U.S. tributaries (which are typically dam locations)
to perform barrier inspections and update current barrier inventory data within
the Barrier Inventory and Project Selection System (BIPSS) database.
According to Kevin Kayle, Hatcheries Manager for the
Ohio Department of Wildlife (ODW), Ohio was unable to obtain steelhead
eggs from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) this past spring
(2015). The MDNR had difficulty collecting collecting steelhead eggs at the
MDNR weir on the Little Manistee River last March. This reduction in eggs had
the potential to negatively impact the MDNR’s annual steelhead production in
their hatchery facilities as well as hatcheries in Indiana and Ohio .
To make up for this shortfall, the ODW in early May
(2015), procured 200,000 fertilized steelhead eggs from Wisconsin (Chambers
Creek and Ganaraska Strain) and 210,000 Little Manistee steelhead fingerlings
from the MDNR this past September (2015). This should enable the ODW to get
close their annual steelhead stocking target of 450,000 steelhead for 2016.
Kayle says the ODW is considering collecting their
own steelhead eggs from returning brood stock in the future. But first they
need to review potential hatchery disease issues, brood stock health and
hatchery modifications for collecting and processing steelhead for eggs.
Harpersfield Dam Project
An Integrated Detailed Project Report (IDPR) for the
Harpersfield Dam (Grand River, OH) lamprey barrier project was completed this
past September (2015) by the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers (USACE).
The IDPR addresses the serious issue of the
Harpersfield Dam being an unreliable barrier to the upstream migration of sea
lamprey due to its sloping downstream face and lack of horizontal lip at its
crest. The USACE has determined that the existing structure has a sloped crest and will not provide a sufficient drop during a 10 year flood event. It is estimated it would cost $335,000 for lampricide treatment above
the dam (every 3-4 years) if lampreys are able to bypass the dam and spawn in
the upper Grand
River
watershed. Presently the Grand River (below the dam) is treated with lampricide every 3-4 years at a cost of
$157,000 by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The IDPR also addresses large cracks in the existing
Harpersfield dam which may allow the passage of sea lamprey and deteriorated
and cracked abutment/embankment walls.
In the IDPR, the USACE recommended an onsite
rebuild, constructing a “cast-in-place” barrier (including a steel lip)
upstream of the Harpersfield Dam (which will be partially removed). The new
barrier will include lamprey traps that will be checked and maintained by the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. No fish passage devices will be incorporated
into the new barrier.
After partnership agreements are signed (by July
2016), engineering and design work for the project should be completed by
January 2017 with construction projected to be completed in November 2018.
Total costs for the project are estimated to be $6 million.
Click on the following link for USACE video on the
Harpersfield Dam Sea Lamprey Dam Project (including artists rendering of new
Harpersfield Dam Barrier): Harpersfield Dam Project
Another fall "chromer" that crushed a Nagy Lake Erie Emerald Shiner tube fly (Scandinavian style design) on a swing. Emerald shiner populations have boomed on the Lake Erie shoreline and tributaries this fall.
This past year the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat
Commission (PF&BC) has acquired three new public fishing easements/acquisitions
for steelhead fishing in Erie County , PA.
The PF&BC started the Lake
Erie Access Improvement Program (LEAIP) in 2006. Funded by the Lake Erie
Fishing Permit Program (and matching funds), LEAIP
has been extraordinarily successful. As of August, 2015 LEAIP has obtained 32 property easements and 13 land acquisitions from private
landowners (a total of 20 miles of stream frontage since 2006 with over 4
million dollars spent so far).
These properties provide much
needed public fishing access (including riparian buffer zones) on tributaries
such as Crooked Creek, Elk Creek, Walnut Creek and Twenty Mile Creeks. The LEAIP program also provides
funds for the protection of fish habitat, construction of public parking areas
and signage along LEAIP acquired easements and properties.
For an online map showing public
fishing access on the PA tributaries (including LEAIP properties) go to: PA Public Fishing Access
For online public fishing access maps
for other steelhead alley states including NY go to: NY Maps
and OH go to: OH Maps
Springville Dam Project
Based on an ongoing feasibility study (Springville
Dam Ecosystem Restoration Project) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE),
the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC), Erie County, NY
and the USACE in August (2015) have approved a project to lower the
deteriorating, 92 year old Springville Dam (aka Scoby Dam) on Cattaraugus Creek,
NY to 13 feet and install a rock riffle ramp to facilitate fish passage above
the dam.
The rock ramp will also feature a track to catch
migrating sea lampreys trying to get above the dam. A final phase of the
project work will involve excavating the dam pool created by the modifications
to facilitate the passage of sediment below the dam.
These modifications would further develop the wild
steelhead fishery on Cattaraugus Creek (there is ideal habitat for natural
reproduction above the dam) and also open up 34 miles of existing NY State
Public Fishing Rights land easements above the dam to public steelhead fishing.
After project partnership agreements are signed, the
project can proceed to the design and construction phases. Funding for the
project is estimated to be around $6.6 million with 65% of the costs to be
picked up by the federal government (through the Great Lakes Restoration
Initiative Program) with the balance from the NYDEC and Erie County , NY
According to the NYDEC, fishing regulations above
the Springville Dam on Cattaraugus Creek will stay in place after dam
modifications are complete. Current NYDEC regulations classify the water above
the dam under special fishing regulations (for the inland trout fishery already
in place) with catch and release from October 16-March 31 (including artificial
lures only). From April 1-Oct 15, 5 trout are allowed to be harvested (both
artificial lures and bait) with no more than 2 longer than 12 inches.
The NYDEC plans to evaluate these regulations after
the impact of steelhead runs above the dam (with the resident trout population)
is better understood.
Click on the following link for the USACE video on the
Springville Dam Ecosystem Restoration Project (including artists rendering of
Springville Dam after construction): Springville Dam Ecosystem Project
Chautauqua Creek Fish Passage Projects
Work by the Chautauqua County Soil and Water
Conservation District has nearly been completed this past summer to repair fish
passage project dams on Chautauqua Creek , NY
The upper
rock ramp has been re-rocked and pinned and the pool level of the lower dam has
been raised to allow steelhead to more easily pass through the dam. In 2016 the
trestle pool dam on Chautauqua Creek (further down river from the rock ramp and
lower dam) will also have its pool level raised to more easily allow fish
passage upstream.
Repaired lower dam on Chautauqua Creek. NYDEC Photo.
NYDEC Projects and Studies
The NYDEC will be doing a number of steelhead related projects/studies in Western
NY this year including: release a new Steelhead Management Plan (November 2015)
which includes a 30 day public review period, access fish passage on Chautauqua
Creek and continue a size/stocking site study of tagged steelhead smolts on
Chautauqua Creek.
The results of the tag study should show how
steelhead smolt size (less than 5 inch versus greater than 5 inch) and stocking
location (upper versus lower river locations) affects steelhead “smolting” and
adult return rates. This data should be very useful in future NYDEC steelhead
stocking practices and ultimately improve the steelhead fishery in NY’s Lake Erie tributaries.
Jim Markham, Aquatic Biologist for the NYDEC,
related that a tributary creel survey was completed on several Lake Erie steelhead tributaries of Western NY last year. Overall the survey
showed that catch rates have stayed down to .32 fish/hour (versus record highs
of .6 fish/hour 10 years ago). 18 Mile Creek showed a big improvement in catch
rates, Chautauqua and Canadaway Creeks were on the downside and Cattaraugus
Creek was slightly down but steady.
More detailed information on fly fishing for Great
Lakes Steelhead can be found in John Nagy’s classic book “Steelhead Guide, Fly
Fishing Techniques and Strategies for Lake Erie Steelhead” His new “Steelheader’s
Journal” makes a great companion book to the Steelhead Guide. Both books are
available by going to the right menu bar for ordering information.
