Fish Community and Fishery of Grand Lake, Presque Isle County, Michigan in 2004-05 With Emphasis on Walleye, Northern Pike, and Smallmouth Bass

摘要

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), Fisheries Division surveyed fish populations and angler catch and effort at Grand Lake, Presque Isle County, Michigan from April 2004 through March 2005. This work was part of the Large Lakes Program, which is designed to improve assessment and monitoring of fish communities and fisheries in Michigan's largest inland lakes. The Large Lake's Program has three primary objectives. The first objective is to produce consistent indices of abundance and estimates of annual harvest and fishing effort for walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass, and muskellunge. These species were selected since they are susceptible to trap or fyke nets and are readily harvested by anglers. The intent is to produce statistics for important fishes to help detect major changes in their populations over time. The second objective is to produce estimates of abundance, growth, and mortality to evaluate the effects of fishing on those species which support valuable fisheries. This usually involves targeting species with nets or other gears to collect, sample, and mark sufficient numbers. I selected walleye, northern pike, and smallmouth bass as target species in this survey of Grand Lake. The final objective is to evaluate the suitability of various statistical estimators for use in large lakes.