RECREATIONAL FISHERY IN LAKE SUPERIOR

1. RECREATIONAL FISHERY IN LAKE SUPERIOR Don Schreiner, MNDNR Steve Schram, WIDNR Shawn Sitar, MIDNR Mike Petzold, OMNR

2. History of Recreational Fishing • Native Americans – first anglers – subsistence • Commercial fishing began - fur trade subsidized • Commercial families started resorts began sport fishing

3. History of Recreational Fishing • Much of first angling experience was from shore/stream • Fly fishing • Elite class of anglers • Superior Fishing-Robert Barnwell Roosevelt-1865 • First charter captains were commercial fisherman

4. History • Increased access roads • New harbors/marinas • WW II • Sea Lamprey

5. History • Sea lamprey control • Introduced Pacific salmon • Larger/safer boats • New electronics/technique

6. Characteristics of Fishery • Stream fishery in spring and fall • Targeted at introduced salmonids • Lake fishery relatively near shore - summer • Bottom bouncing and jigging for lake trout • Planner boards for salmon • Bays and estuaries - seasonal • Cool water species, splake, brown trout

7. Waters of Lake Superior Bays 0-240 ft (0-80 meters) > 240 ft (> 80 meters)

8. Creel or Angler Surveys • Pressure – angler hours • Number of fish harvested or caught • CPUE – catch per effort or no. of fish/angler hr

9. Status – Creel Surveys • Wisconsin – 1972 – 2000 May 1 – Sept. 30 • Minnesota – 1972 – 2000 Memorial W.E. – Sept. 30 • Michigan – 1987 – 2000 Standard sites May 1 – Sept. 30 • Ontario – Intermittent – selected sites - diaries

10. Pressure in U.S. Waters of Lake Superior

11. Percent Pressure Among States in Lake Superior 1972-2000 *Michigan estimate is from 1987-00

12. Salmonids Caught in U.S. Waters of Lake Superior

13. Salmonid Catch by Agency in U.S. Waters of Lake Superior

14. Trends in Catch of Major Salmonids in U.S. Waters of Lake Superior *

15. Distribution of Major Salmonids in Catch from U.S. Waters of Lake Superior 1990-2000

16. Distribution of Major Salmonids in Ontario Waters of Lake Superior 1987-1999

17. CPUE for All Salmonids in the U.S. Waters of Lake Superior

18. Pressure and CPUE for All Salmonids in the U.S. Waters of Lake Superior

19. CPUE for Salmonids in Lake Superior Recreational Fishery

20. CPUE for Major Salmonids in Lake Superior by Agency

21. Number of Charter Captains in U.S. Waters of Lake Superior

22. Comparison Between Overall Sport and Charter CPUE for U.S. Waters of Lake Superior

23. Comparison of Charter CPUE Among States

24. Estimates of Fishing Pressure in Days Among Upper Great Lakes ****From Bence and Smith (1999)

25. Comparison of Salmonid CPUE Among Upper Great Lakes for Salmonids

26. Comparison of Charter CPUE Among Upper Great Lakes

27. Mean Size of Major Salmonids Caught Among Upper Great Lakes **Estimates for L. Huron from 1990-1998, L. Michigan from 1995-1997, L. Superior from 1990-2000. For each lake, data were from lake-wide creels

28. Mean Catch Composition Among Upper Great Lakes ****L.Huron Estimates from 1986-1998, L.Michigan Estimates from 1991-2000, L. Superior Estimates from 1990-2000

29. Summary – Upper Lakes Recreational Fishery • Fishing pressure much lower on Lake Superior • CPUE of sport and charter fishery for Lake Superior equal to or greater than in Lakes Michigan and Huron • Catch composition dominated by lake trout in L. Superior, chinook salmon in L. Huron and rainbow trout in L. Michigan • Average size of all fish smaller in L. Superior

30. Summary– Lake Superior Recreational Fishery • Fishing pressure has decreased since late 1980s, while catch rate has increased • Annual catch of all salmonids averaged approximately 70,000 fish from 1990 - 2000 • Average CPUE is 0.15 for all salmonids from 1990-2000 • Approximately 67% of catch composed of lake trout, 17% coho and 8% chinook salmon