Fall 2011

Looks like summer is about half over and after a cold start, it heated up pretty good. Because of the early summer cold -- not sure how well our fish spawned. Looks like the panfish had a pretty good year, with the exception of the perch and crappies.

Several fishermen have noticed a big decrease in the crappie population over the past several years. I didn't get out early as much as I liked -- but I've only caught a few last summer and none so far this summer. This is my theory on the crappie: years ago (back in the late 1990s and early 2000s -- I thought Lake Somerset was one of the best crappie lakes in this area -- many times you could catch a limit in less than an hour -- and they were large fish 9-12 inches. Whether a coincidence or not -- the population began to fall about the time we got the zebra mussel invasion and began using herbicides to control aquatic plants. I doubt that the zebra mussels have any impact on spawning. Which leaves us with the herbicide effect. Crappie begin their spawning when the water temperature approaches the mid 50s. Nests are loosely constructed in areas with vegetation -- the newly hatched fish then hang out in the vegetation and eventually migrate into deeper water. Just a thought -- but we have been "targeting" curly leaf pondweed in early May. Curley leaf pondweed has been in MI for over 100 years -- but some refer to it as an invasive plant. Curley leaf springs up in late April and May, then dies out in June. This is just a theory on my part! Depending on what we see the fall and winter -- we may need to restock some crappies next year.

And then there's the zebra mussels -- seems like last fall they reached a peak and this year seemed to disappear. Snorkeling and wading around our area -- showed no zebs -- only some empty shells. Let's see, what happens when people began pulling their boats out? Some lake people have been asking me if something has been eating them. As I've stated before -- several fish species in our lake eat them -- but not exclusively. Carp, catfish, and redear sunfish have been documented dining on zebs! Plus many diving duck species feed on them (scaup and piebilled grebes both feed on snails and small mussels. Last spring I noticed a large flock of scaup (also called bluebills) spent almost a month in our bay diving for something -- actually this is a first -- other than a few individuals -- they always stay on the main lake. Were they eating the zebs?? Back to the fish!! Lots of fishermen have told me of catching redears in the 11-12 inch range including several that qualified for MI Master Angler awards. They certainly has been success around here. Some people have asked that maybe we should stock more of them. Most fisheries info shows that if a species (particularly panfish) are doing well you shouldn't stock more as it could result in stunting. I think most of our "redears" are hybrids from pumpkinseed/bluegill crosses.

This summer -- the bluegill bite has been great -- right now they are stacked up over the deeper water, about 12-16 feet down. Most days I get a limit in about 1-2 hours. These fish are large, 8-9 inches, and very good eating. The walleye and pike have slowed down a bit -- but I spoke to several fishermen who have taken some nice walleyes trolling crankbaits or jigs baited with minnows or crawlers. And remember -- the catfish are almost always willing to bite!

Here's the story on this year's fish stocking -- I had planned on stocking pike this spring. Because of the cooler weather -- the fish hatched late and were not ready until mid June. After rushing around getting the permit and health certificate approved -- we finally had a stocking date in late June. However, when the rearing ponds were emptied there were only a few "big" pike left. That's a problem with rearing pike -- as they grow -- they begin eating each other! So, bottom line, I guess we will stock more walleyes than usual this fall.

As always, good luck fishing, and let me know if you have any questions,or have any comments. My phone number is 688-3384, email grausch@comcast.net. Also send me any fish pictures you might want to share for the website.

George Rausch