Some friends and I are taking a trip up to Michigan this summer (late July/ early August) and expect to do some camping on the shores of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.
Now we are Southerners, and are not wise in the ways of fish up in those parts. (What? No bass? No gar?) We would rather not go to the trouble and expense of chartering a boat if we can help it.
Is there any fishing that can successfully be done from the shore? If so, do you have any tips for us? Would we just be wasting our time? Would we be on the fishing equivalent of a snipe hunt? Should we stick to fishing small lakes and rivers?
Well, having lived near Lake Michigan in the 60s and 70s I can attest that during certain parts of the year you can fish from the shore with your hands, if you are so inclined. (And if you fancy dead alewives.)
Seriously, I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t fish from shore, if there is a pier or something where you are staying. I think the major sport fish (coho salmon) are deep water fish, though.
I’ve seen people fishing from bridges over the outlets of streams on the shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Superior. Fishing from docks or piers is common. A list of some fishing piers is given at Fishing Michigan’s UP..
There is plenty of sport fishing from the lakeshore. You have to know what you’re doing, of course. Michigan has nearly as many “internal” lakes as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” Minnesota, and a goodly number of rivers as well.
Michigan also has both bass and gar, although I don’t know that the Michihgan gar is a sport fish. Salmon, walleye, and trout are in abundance (although some species hang out only in certain lakes). There is good carp fishing in some places, but that is one of those “tastes great/less filling” fish that you either hate or love.
Well, that’s if you consider the things in the Great Lakes to be fish… Ever see the episode of The Simpsons with Blinky, the three-eyed fish? Seriously, though, feel free to fish for sport, but don’t eat anything that comes out of the Great Lakes. When the zebra mussels invaded the lakes, being filter feeders, they greatly cleaned up the water. They did this by concentrating all of the pollutants in the food chain, instead.
“There are only two things that are infinite: The Universe, and human stupidity-- and I’m not sure about the Universe”
–A. Einstein
A valid observation, Chronos, although I don’t believe that it is universally true. There is more than one food chain in the lakes.
The Michigan DNR should be able to indicate which fish should be avoided. (And since inland lakes and streams have not all been invaded by the mussels, some of them are fairly safe, particularly in the UP.)
A friend of mine, who once lived in Cleveland, said that all you had to do to cook a fish caught in the lake was light it.
Well, I thought it was funny.
Peace,
mangeorge
Teach your kids to bungee jump.
One them might have to cross a bridge someday.
Gar isn’t a sport fish in Georgia either. (We catch ‘em on trot lines sometimes, tho’.) I was just being funny, and trying to think of fish which are not found in the frozen north.
I’m very surprised to learn that you have gar. For some reason, I thought that was strictly a southern species. I figured you might have smallmouth bass. Do you have largemouth bass as well? (That would come as a surprise to me, too.)
We were just going to do a little catch-and-release. No plans to eat anything we pull out. I’m aware of the reputation for pollution of the Great Lakes generally, but was under the impression that had changed somewhat in recent years.
I also was under the impression that Lake Superior was not as industrialized as the other lakes and should be relatively clean and safe. Am I wrong about this?
I had heard about the cleansing effect of zebra mussels, but I thought that was a good thing. (Maybe the only good thing about the mussels.) Do the fish really eat them, putting the pollutants back in the food chain? Or are the mussels having the effect of taking pollutants out of the food chain, and thus making the fish safer to eat? Either way, I believe we’ll release any fish we should happen to catch.
Steve-o-
Actually, snipe are very easy to catch. You just take this sack, see… Well, next time you’re in Georgia, give me a yell, and I’ll just show you how it’s done.
Living in Ohio near to Lake Erie (the most polluted of the Great Lakes), I can assure you that you will be able to eat the fish from any lake you fish in Michigan. Ohio’s Fish and Game people put out a pamphlet advising where you have to restrict intake of what fish caught in Ohio; there are as of now almost no restrictions on Lake Erie fish, and most of those on the types you would be fishing for (walleye, trout, perch, etc.) are of the following sort: don’t eat more than 30 in a week.
It does not appear that Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources publishes a similar guide. I see that back in 1997 Gov. Engler called on the an advisory environmental panel to come up with a comprehensive guide of what can be eaten safely in the way of fish in Michigan. As is typical, it doesn’t seem it has been done. For the Ohio advisories, go here: A GUIDE TO YOUR HEALTH. There are links at the end to suggested consumption limits for Lake Erie and for inland waters.
Plenty of people fish for perch and salmon from shore in Lake Erie near Cleveland. They catch an occasional walleye, too. A good rule for consuming great lakes fish is “Don’t eat fish that have lips !”. They’re the bottom feeders like catfish that eat all the old industrial gunk.
zebra messels are cleansing the fish to extinction. While the water is getting more clear, the mussels are wiping out the micro-organizms that are at the base of the food chain. This is hurting the bait fish which hurts the game fish. They may be about as good for fish as chlorinated water.
Ther are many fish to be had from shore and the streams depending on the time of year. There are a lot of salmon and trout by shore in the spring when the water is cold. When warmer, bass, white bass, crappy, perch may all be had. Walley tend to run deeper. For my money, River fishing is a heck o0f a lot more fun and more productive.
watch your laws carefully. Ther are very stringent laws on fishing methods, seasons and size in the north. If it is not bass season, you can get in trouble for fishing around bass beds.
Two of my favorite kinds of fishing were for carp and bullhead. Bullhed are a type of catfish that bite best at night. They are attracted to fishermen with a lot of beer. Carp get huge in the lake and you can catch them by throwing out a bunch of corn and then puutting some on a hook and casting where you tyhrew the corn. They are fun to catch. Alternately, you can shoot them with a bow and arrow. That is a blast.
The Michigan DNR does publish such a guide, but it does not appear to be available on their website. Generally you can either call the DNR for the booklet or pick one up when you buy a license.
Now where are all the Michiganders that actually have the right answers.
I know for a fact that Michigan has a lengthy list of waters with restrictions on eating the fish. Either limited amounts or just plain DON’T. That being said the majority of these waters are in the lower Peninsula. The Upper Peninsula on the other hand is generally cleaner. But do indeed look for the Fish Advisory pamphlet.
Also Lake Michigan is experiencing very low water levels this year so beware. Go inland you will find your fill of a variety of fish. Bluegill(Brim), Crappie(White Perch), Yellow Perch, Trout, Musky, Northern Pike, Walleye, Carp, Bass(Both Largemouth and Smallmouth) etc. etc. etc.
First of all, thanks to Mrblue92 for finding the fishing advisory for 2000 for Michigan streams and lakes. That is what I was looking for yesterday and couldn’t find.
Now, as for the post from Sledman:
Only one lake in Michigan has a total don’t eat advisory (Deer Lake in upper peninsula from mercury poisoning). Having reviewed the rest of the advisories, discounting bottom-feeders spoke- isn’t interested in and won’t be fishing for, in general it is safe to eat most lake fish. The only advisories appear to be for some really large sized fish in the Great Lakes. Nevertheless, it does appear that Michigan advises some greater caution than does the Ohio DNR for eating fish from the waters of that state; I note that they disagree with Ohio on the limitations even from the common waters they share in Lake Erie.
And furthermore, coming directly from the aforementioned advisory page:
General Inland Lake Mercury Advisory
For lakes not in these lists, follow this general advisory. Even in the lakes tested that did not have fish consumption advisories due to mercury it is wise to limit meals of large fish.
No one should eat more than one meal a week of rock bass, yellow perch, or crappie over nine inches in length and bass, walleye, northern pike or muskellunge of any size.
Women of childbearing age and children under 15 should not eat more than one meal per month of these fish.
What I was saying is that there are a large amount of advisories in the state of Michigan and most are downstate. This includes lakes and rivers.
I’ve eaten plenty o’ fish from Lake Superior. Shit, I drink Lake Superior water straight out of the lake. It’s incredibly clean. If you have problems eating fish out of a lake so clear you can see the bottom from a boat that’s in 30’ deep water, well, that’s your problem.
I dunno about fishing from shore. I’ve never seen anyone do it, but then again, I don’t fish much. My dad fishes a lot, and he always goes out in a boat (a BIG boat, with a radio - don’t go out in a fishing boat unless you really like taking risks.)
