Spaulding Outdoors
By Jack Spaulding

“Skamania” is the unique strain of summer-migrating steelhead trout Indiana has developed in southern Lake Michigan. The steelhead migrating up tributary streams in the fall and winter are also stocked by Indiana, but the Skamania is special.

“Since these magnificent fish enter Indiana tributaries during the summer months, we are right on the cusp of this year’s migration,” said Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Lake Michigan biologist Brian Breidert of the upcoming peak time for such fishing.

Indiana has been in the Skamania steelhead business for well over 35 years, becoming the mainstay for Indiana’s Lake Michigan stocking program. Trail Creek, Salt Creek, the East Branch of the Little Calumet River and the St. Joseph River have summer and fall returns of Skamania as a result of annual stockings.

Once the fish enter the rivers, they become accessible to local anglers until the following spring, when they spawn and migrate back into the lake. The unique fish provides a nearly 12-month steelhead fishery. Northwestern Indiana tributaries receive 180,000 fish annually, while the St. Joseph River receives 240,000.

During the 2009 creel survey season, northwestern Indiana stream anglers caught 5,473 steelhead from July through December. More than 3,300 were caught in summer months alone. Shore anglers fishing the harbor mouths accounted for an additional 400 fish.

Stream angler catch rates of seven steelhead per 100 hours fished was the highest of the past decade.  Average size was eight pounds, with fish measuring an average of 28 inches.

“Indiana is the home of the Skamania steelhead in the Great Lakes,” Breidert said. “Our hatchery staff continues to work diligently each summer, collecting adult Skamania steelhead to ensure our hatcheries have an ample supply of adults to produce eggs each winter for Indiana’s stocking programs.

“Steelhead fishing during the summer has become one of our biggest draws for those in pursuit of tackle-busting trophies, with anglers from over half of Indiana’s counties and throughout the Midwest pursuing these fish.”

The best stream angling opportunities during summer occur directly after rainfall or when sustained south winds bring cold water near shore. “Fishing the piers in late evening or early morning from June to September provides some of the best action,” said local expert Mike Ryan.

Indiana DNR trying to stop spread of Asian carp
The DNR will take a lead role in implementing a short-term step to address the advance of Asian carp up the Wabash River system and their potential movement into the Maumee River, a tributary to Lake Erie.

The focal point is Eagle Marsh, a 705-acre restored wetland near Fort Wayne that the DNR staff identified as a possible pathway for Asian carp passage under certain flood conditions. The marsh is just north of Fox Island County Park, near the intersection of Interstate 69 and U.S. Highway 24.

A permanent solution to prevent Asian carp from being able to pass through the area during flooding conditions will take more time to develop, design and construct. Therefore, as an immediate preventive measure, the DNR will install mesh fencing across a section of the marsh, creating a barrier against passage of Asian carp between the Wabash and Maumee drainage basins.

The DNR convened a recent meeting in Fort Wayne to address the potential carp movement and explore solutions, and the consensus was the mesh barrier is the best short-term option to pursue.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Allen County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Little River Wetlands Project managing the Eagle Marsh were all represented at the meeting.

The fencing will be substantial enough to withstand floodwaters, but will be designed so it does not increase flood elevations and cause property damage. The Corps will provide design guidance on the fencing.  The goal is to have the fencing installed this summer. Additional monitoring will be conducted and more aggressive action taken if the threat warrants.

Although Chicago waterways remain the likeliest entry point for Asian carp into the Great Lakes, the Corps is tasked with finding other potential pathways throughout the Great Lakes basin. Corps officials have identified several sites they are investigating to determine the risk of Asian carp advancement, including the Eagle Marsh area.

Although the Wabash and Maumee basins drain in opposite directions and have no direct connection under normal conditions, their waters do comingle under certain flood conditions.
Eagle Marsh straddles a natural geographic divide created by glacial movement during the last ice age. The broad wetland marsh extends across the divide into two key drainage ditches – McCulloch Ditch and Junk Ditch. McCulloch drains west into the Little River and eventually the Wabash River near Huntington, while Junk Ditch drains northeast into the St. Marys River and then the Maumee River.

If Asian carp cross the divide at Eagle Marsh and reach the Maumee, they would be in the Lake Erie drainage basin and additional, more costly and invasive steps would be required to protect the Great Lakes from the threat.

The DNR and the Corps are working with Geological Survey to analyze historic flood data and determine the depth and duration of flooding in the Eagle Marsh area.

Asian carp, a generic term for four species of non-native carp, were first detected in Indiana in 1996 at Hovey Lake Fish & Wildlife Area in the southwestern corner of the state. Subsequent DNR surveys located bighead carp and silver carp in low abundance in the Wabash River or its tributaries, but the location of the findings show the fish moving upstream.

A 2008 survey collected a total of 25 silver carp and two bighead carp over a 105-mile stretch of the Wabash River. Adult bighead carp have been found below the dam at Roush Lake near Huntington, and silver carp have advanced to the Mississinewa River near Peru.

In late May, a DNR biologist found evidence of silver carp spawning near Lafayette, 105 river miles downstream from the mouth of the Little River.

For a map of the Eagle Marsh area, go to www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw- AsianCarpMap.pdf and for facts about Asian carp in Indiana, visit www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw- AsianCarpAdvisory.pdf