Grand Rapids Michigan Salmon Fishing Report : 10/7/10

While working in Grand Rapids this week I made sure to make it down to the fish ladder and falls on the grand river, get some photographs, and talk with some of the fishermen.  It would seem that numbers of King Salmon, Coho, and Steelhead have made it to the base of the dam.  They are not, however, there in large numbers.  One or two fish jump up a section of the fish ladder every 5 or 10 minutes and some are very small stockers.  Spawn sacs fished on river rigs on the bottom took all the fish I saw caught, and most came from the first 50 feet below the falls. 

Fishing pressure is moderate during the early morning hours, light during the day, and then heavy at dusk and just after dark.  Some very silver Coho and Steelhead are at the falls, but darker King Salmon outnumber those by a great deal.  I talked to a couple of fishermen who say they have walked entire lengths of streams up-river and have not even seen fish moving up river.

A detail of the fish ladder.

Artprize is happening in Grand Rapids and there are many pieces of publicly displayed art along the river walk and all over town, so if you're in the city to fish before Sunday, be sure to take a walk and see some of the art.  There is even a Sturgeon peice at the fish ladder.

Fish were hopping up while I was there, but I wasn't able to capture one with the camera phone.

Here are a couple of views of the river from a higher vantage point.  The river is very low and fairly clear, it seems as though a bit of rain wouldn't hurt fishing in Lower Michigan, the same as in Lower Wisconsin.

White House Summit to Discuss Asian Carp Crisis

From the Toledo Blade

Article published February 01, 2010
White House to host Asian carp talks
BLADE STAFF
The Obama Administration said it will host a White House summit on Feb. 8 to discuss the Asian carp crisis with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. The 2:30 p.m. meeting, which the administration has closed to the public, will include Nancy Sutley, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Coast Guard. The participants are trying to settle on how to keep the voracious carp from destroying the Great Lakes fishery, valued at $7 billion. The greatest potential value of controlling the carp is in western Lake Erie, the most biologically productive part of the Great Lakes. Lake Erie holds more fish than the other four Great Lakes combined. Officials have been hoping to diversify the region's sagging economy by promoting fishing - especially in Lake Erie's western basin. DNA evidence shows Asian carp, nonnatives introduced to North America via Arkansas fish hatcheries, have breached a $9 million electrical barrier the Corps built southwest of Chicago in hopes of keeping the fish from reaching Lake Michigan. They have been swimming up the Mississippi River for years.

Michigan is one of the nation's leaders in registered boaters. It has more Great Lakes shoreline than any other state.

Ms. Granholm and Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, with support from Ohio and other Great Lakes states, have sought to have two locks between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi closed at least temporarily to keep the invasive fish out. Illinois officials have resisted, citing a loss of shipping revenue. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear a case Mr. Cox filed against the state of Illinois, saying he should have filed it against the Corps. - Tom Henry

Great Lakes Angler : View From Point Betsie

A Photograph from Point Betsie taken a couple of months ago, photographs like this on the computer help make the long winter a little bit shorter.

Blog of Interest : The Northern Angler

A recent find of mine while flowing through the river of the internet. The Northern Angler, a blog, similar to this one, only from Northern Lower Michigan. Reports on the Manistee and Betsie (which sports a run of naturally reproducing salmon, which I learned only after reading this blog).

Feel free to take a look. You may click the link above, or have a look at the link on the right column. Enjoy.

Original Photography by Great Lakes Angler : Point Betsie Michigan

Two weeks ago I took my Nikon D300 and some lenses out under a full moon to Point Betsie and put this series together. These corrugated steel piers jut out from the seawall in front of Point Betsie.

Corrugated Steel and Fresh Water

Enjoy the photographs, lake Michigan is really wonderful under the moonlight and stars. There were a couple of boats out trolling glow spoons for Salmon and Trout, and a couple of boaters coming in from days spent on the water. I count myself lucky to have had the chance to bring these images to you, as it means I was blessed with the time to be there in the first place.