On May 17-18, 2011, Alpena Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office Fish Biologist Anjanette Bowen assisted Sarah Bauer and Dustin Hart from the La Crosse Fish Health Center with the collection of fish from Pendills Lake in Chippewa County, Michigan.

Samples were taken from fish to determine if disease or pathogens are present.  The lake is a back-up water supply for Pendills Creek National Fish Hatchery, which raises lake trout for stocking in the Great Lakes.  Fish health sampling is important for keeping the hatchery disease and pathogen free.

Fyke nets were used to sample fish from the lake.  Six species of fish were collected - brown bullhead, golden shiner, northern pike, pumpkinseed sunfish, rock bass, and yellow perch.  The total catch was recorded and lengths were measured on a representative sample from each species.

Kidney and spleen samples were collected from a number of brown bullheads, northern pike, pumpkinseed sunfish, rock bass, and yellow perch to detect bacterial and viral pathogens. The samples will be processed at the La Crosse Fish Health Center in Onalaska, Wisconsin.  Laboratory results on the pathology of the samples will be available at a later date.