Sam,
That’s an interesting take. I would disagree on a number of points made by that person. First- the stocked trout are extremely popular with most anglers and we have no plans to discontinue stocking them. There are very few lakes in Michigan that have the characteristics to support rainbow and brown trout, Bear Lake folks are very lucky to live on one of them. I agree that the stocked trout are not great to eat for the first month or so after stocking, but once they switch to a lake diet and start growing, the vast majority of folks think they are very good to eat.
Michigan DNR does not stock species like smallmouth bass or bluegill. Those species reproduce and manage themselves very well in Michigan lakes, so there’s no need for us to stock them. This is the first I’ve heard of a decline in the smallmouth bass fishing on Bear Lake, so that is something that bears watching.
Hope that helps.
Mark Tonello
Fisheries Management Biologist
Central Lake Michigan Management Unit, Cadillac
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
(231) 444-8007 tonellom@michigan.gov
Thank you for your service to bear lake.
Would it be possible to contact the DNR and ask them to stock bear lake with small mouth bass instead of trout.
The small mouth bass population is 75% down from 5 years ago.. The small Mouth bass are ferocious fighters and are a blast to catch and release..
These pen raised trout aren’t that fun to catch and actually do not taste very good at all.
Stocking, small mouth bass and bluegill would be much preferred by most anglers..
With all due respect Brian, I totally disagree with your comments. The trout are a lot of fun to catch whether you are trolling, ice fishing, or still fishing with lights at night for them. And, they are great to eat – unlike bass which taste terrible!
I do agree with you that there don’t seem to be as many bass in the lake as there were years ago. Probably because they are easy to catch and most people keep them rather than releasing them back into the lake.
So instead of requesting the DNR to stop stocking the lake with trout, request them to make Bear Lake a “catch and release only lake” for Bass!!
And, in regards to bluegill, there is no need to stock any since there are a LOT of bluegill in Bear Lake already. You just need to know how to find and catch them.
Here is the response from DNR:
Sam,
That’s an interesting take. I would disagree on a number of points made by that person. First- the stocked trout are extremely popular with most anglers and we have no plans to discontinue stocking them. There are very few lakes in Michigan that have the characteristics to support rainbow and brown trout, Bear Lake folks are very lucky to live on one of them. I agree that the stocked trout are not great to eat for the first month or so after stocking, but once they switch to a lake diet and start growing, the vast majority of folks think they are very good to eat.
Michigan DNR does not stock species like smallmouth bass or bluegill. Those species reproduce and manage themselves very well in Michigan lakes, so there’s no need for us to stock them. This is the first I’ve heard of a decline in the smallmouth bass fishing on Bear Lake, so that is something that bears watching.
Hope that helps.
Mark Tonello
Fisheries Management Biologist
Central Lake Michigan Management Unit, Cadillac
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
(231) 444-8007
tonellom@michigan.gov
I’ll see what I can find out and respond here. Thanx for your comment.
Sam
Thank you for your service to bear lake.
Would it be possible to contact the DNR and ask them to stock bear lake with small mouth bass instead of trout.
The small mouth bass population is 75% down from 5 years ago.. The small Mouth bass are ferocious fighters and are a blast to catch and release..
These pen raised trout aren’t that fun to catch and actually do not taste very good at all.
Stocking, small mouth bass and bluegill would be much preferred by most anglers..
With all due respect Brian, I totally disagree with your comments. The trout are a lot of fun to catch whether you are trolling, ice fishing, or still fishing with lights at night for them. And, they are great to eat – unlike bass which taste terrible!
I do agree with you that there don’t seem to be as many bass in the lake as there were years ago. Probably because they are easy to catch and most people keep them rather than releasing them back into the lake.
So instead of requesting the DNR to stop stocking the lake with trout, request them to make Bear Lake a “catch and release only lake” for Bass!!
And, in regards to bluegill, there is no need to stock any since there are a LOT of bluegill in Bear Lake already. You just need to know how to find and catch them.