Minnesota Steelheader

2012 was an an interesting year along the North Shore of Lake Superior.  We had one of the earliest spring Steelhead runs most have ever encountered.  The 100 year flood changed many of the rivers creating new bends, washed out gravel beds, destroyed overpasses and culverts, yet we witnessed first hand on the upper Sucker River, our adopted river, that young rainbows are still thriving. The fall salmon run was not real exciting due to the lack of precipitation and stream flow.  In fact those that traveled past the Stewart River this fall saw a sandbar that completely closed off  Pink Salmon migration.  In spit of the fall conditions, there were still Salmon to be had if one was willing to search. All-in-all it was still an enjoyable year and a rather successful one for MS. Our staff had some great trips on the water, some nice fish caught too.  We had a great turnout at our fall clean up, a full class at our fall Salmon clinic, some pr...

DNR commissioner appoints new Aquatic Invasive Species Advisory Committee (Released December 27, 2012) Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Commissioner Tom Landwehr appointed 15 members on Dec. 19 to a new statewide Aquatic Invasive Species Advisory Committee. According to the DNR, aquatic invasive species is one of the most important natural resource issues for Minnesota. Preventing the spread of zebra mussels, Asian carp and Eurasian watermilfoil (as well as other invasive plants and animals) in lakes and streams is critical, along with effective control of established invasive populations. The committee was created to help the DNR maintain strong relationships with AIS stakeholders and use their advice and recommendations to help guide the department’s activities. Appointed to three-year terms for 2013-2015 are: John M. Barten, Plymouth; Gary Botzek, Roseville; Jerry Byron, Waseca; Pat Conzemius, Brooklyn Center; Rachael Crabb, Minneapolis; Jeff Forester, ...

(Released December 27, 2012)- MN DNR Interested citizens have until Monday, Feb. 11, to comment on Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) plans to provide more angler opportunity for trout and sturgeon, and protect flathead catfish during winter and to make changes to some other fisheries rules. For trout, DNR is considering rules that: Simplify trout fishing regulations in southeastern Minnesota by dropping the barbless hook restriction; research has demonstrated that hooking mortality is not significantly greater with a barb. Extend the end of the fall catch-and-release season on all designated trout streams in southeastern Minnesota from Sept. 30 to Oct. 15. Allow catch-and-release angling on designated trout streams in some southeastern Minnesota state parks from Oct. 15 to Dec. 31. Open some lakes in Becker, Beltrami, Cass, Crow Wing and Hubbard counties to winter trout fishing. Prompted by successful recovery efforts of the sturgeon populations in the ...

A big thank you to all those who helped this past weekend with our Adopt-A-River Cleanup along the Sucker River, it is looking good - cleanliness wise. Out efforts Saturday morning removed approximately 50 pounds of trash, less than half of what we removed last year.  We attribute this reduction in junk primarily on our efforts getting the trash barrels removed from the parking lot, as well as other locations up and down the shore. Last year we had determined that the trash barrels that have been placed witin the parking lot were actually part of the problem.  Hard to believe right?  They are suppose to collect trash making the area a cleaner place.  Wrong.  What they did is collect visitors trash in recepticles that must have looked like salad bowls to or furry friends.  Visitors were dumping household waste, camping trash, and a whole boatload of beverage containers.  Our thought is that wilderness areas...

For most of our staff, and probably plenty of you, pheasant hunting is a big part of fall outdoor adventures. For some it might be simply a weekend hunt with friends and/or family, for others it is a weekly passion throughout the entire season. For the fly tyers out there it means fresh new materials for tying next springs nymph and wet fly patterns. For one Jason Markkula, it means Beer. Jason Markkula is the owner and brewmaster for the Bank Brewing Company. You can find out all about him and the company HERE.  You can also find them on facebook. We won't go into the details of Jason or the company on this post, but we will tell you that he had started a pretty neat program a few years back called "Beer For Wildlife", a foundation of sorts that donates beer sales profits back to restore habitat.  Now we can all say cheers to that! Pictured here is the 2012 label for Bank Brewing's acclaimed Rooster Lager, one of the beers associated with the Beer For Wildlife...

We have finally set the date for the 2012  fall Streamside Clinic.  This year it will also coincide with our annual Adopt-a-River cleanup along the banks of the Sucker River. Date: September 29th: Cleanup Location:  Sucker River parking lot. Time - clean up: start between 9:30-10:00am Clinic Location: Mid Shore River TBD Time-clinic:   after clean up - approx.11:30am Limited Attendance - contact - get on the list The Clinic: We spend 30 - 45 minutes or so having a streamside discussion about pink salmon, their life cycle, why they have been relatively successful in the Superior environment compared to other Pacific Salmon, and how this relates to the North Shore steelhead fishery. There's a little mix of biology, geology and limnology thrown in. Since there are lots of similarities with regards to the areas the pinks key on, rigging, presentations etc., learning to catch them teaches you a lot about how to catch steel...

Greetings all! We recently received something really special from Matt Ward at the DNR which deserves recognition and attention. Matt was previously the Anadromous Specialist for the Duluth Area Fisheries Office, but now serves as Large Lake Specialist for Leech Lake out of Walker. For all the angst over various issues the public has with the DNR, the incredible work individuals like Matt do on a day to day basis too often gets lost in the kerfluffel... Here's an exerpt from Matt's message to us: "I was previously the anadromous specialist for the MNDNR over on Superior and now am on Leech Lake... I crunched all of the numbers on our spring creel data of anglers that caught steelhead and summarized it in hopes that more people would be successful and enjoy the fishery." This poster will be presented at the American Fisheries Society meeting in the Twin Cities next week. I think the last line in Matt's message and the fact he sent this to us to present to You...