Dale Hanson of the Green Bay Fishery Resources Office (GBFRO) distributed annual summary reports for Lake Michigan fish stocking activities and lake-wide creel data trends in 2005.  The reports were prepared for the Lake Michigan Committee meeting, held on March 26 in Windsor, Ontario.  The primary purpose of the reports was to provide overviews of last year’s stocking numbers and recreational fishery harvest in Lake Michigan to compare with long-term trends. 

Highlights from the stocking report show that nearly 1.8 million more salmonids were stocked in Lake Michigan last year compared to 2004; the increase resulted from relative increases in coho salmon, rainbow trout and lake trout stocking.  The lake-wide creel report identifies 2005 as the best year for chinook anglers since the mid 1980’s with this past year’s harvest reaching near record levels of  800,000 chinook. 

Copies of the reports are available in .pdf format upon request.  The stocking and lake-wide creel data in these reports are used in conjunction with assessment surveys to provide fisheries managers the ability to assess optimal stocking rates to sustain a world class fishery.