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Another year with great Coho fishing. Where would Indiana be with out the 1.5-1.8 million Coho that Michigan stocks?. Wisconsin stocks between 300,000-500,000 yearly.

Are we dependent on Michigan for our good fishing? Did you know that the majority of those Coho come from the Platte River stocking? Don't believe me?
What a couple of weeks and we will talk about it some more.

I was saying the same thing when we were out there catching coho left and right. Those fish will be leaving us soon. Another thing that is worrisome to me, idk what everyone else is seeing but the lack of Steelies offshore has me worried. I have only boxed 1 steelie and lost 1, usually they are pretty common on a daily catch most years.

We would be in deep trouble with out Michigan’s coho.  Thats why we need to our own returning fish so badly. Unfortunately within the next week or so silver fish out of Indiana water are very hard to catch and a rarity to find.  The coho are heading home as we speak and home unfortunately is not a Indiana harbor near you. 

Amen!  Sadly, IDNR continues to put ultimate "faith" in the promises from Michigan. Remember a decade or more ago when Michigan's hatchery costs weren't keeping up with their budget so they decided to flush a good portion of their coho down the drain. Indiana's fishing clubs (SU, NWIS, Michiana Steelheaders, LCFGPA) chipped in to "save the coho."  Luckily, it proved to be a one time thing, but it does show Michigan's willingness to "cut the cohos." 

Remember, Indiana didn't meet their stocking goals for either cohos or chinooks last year because they failed to receive the "promised" number of eggs from Michigan.  

Not saying Michigan is purposely failing to provide what they are promising, but it does show Indiana ought to be moving to create a way to gather our own eggs either as a "main" plan or as a back-up plan when issues develop with our providers.  

The only "bright" spot is as Michigan's chinook catches tanked, their cohos provided a bit of a cushion and anglers happily chased them.  I doubt that will continue should the Michigan kings recover close to historical levels.  Couple this with cohos now being stocked in Lake Huron by Michigan, shortages could become a regular occurance.  

The only "bright" spot is back in the 90s when hatchery problems in Michigan and elsewhere impacted the number of cohos stocked lakewide (remember when we had only a three coho limit?) Our spring fishing was still terrific - it just petered out sooner in the summer.  
 

With the current economy predicted to produce massive inflation and no mechanism in place for the DNRs Lake Michigan programs to get increased funding, they are going to be forced to do without for the next few years or longer. Us fishermen will ultimately pay the price. Too bad there are no longer any groups like DU or NWTF which are capable of raising significant funds to help offset budget shortfalls.  

With the season now winding down, should be a good time for this discussion. Yes Indiana was,and is, dependent on out of state stocking for Coho.
We have always been in this situation. And, what a great situation to be in. Since the beginning of the Salmon stocking the spring Coho have always been here after ice out. Michigan fish, Wisconsin fish, Illinois fish and Indiana fish all mixed in together. The southend hasn't changed much in this regard. Water warms, fish start to move, and summer fishing sets in. So far, not much change. The biggest change I see is that those Coho in recent years are not leaving this end chasing Mysis shrimp. They are staying cause our forage base has increased. Our Coho fishing is relative to how strong our forage base is. The forage base is the key and is why we now have out of state kings moving thru in April and May. If the forage base isn't the key then why are Huron Kings leaving Huron?
Indiana stocking has limits of what we can do. There is only so much hatchery space. Fish like Coho and Steel are being raised longer in the hatcheries, so space becomes an issue. Bigger fingerlings need more room. The only fish we cannot do that with is the Kings. So, yes we have a Coho fishery that we do add fish to.  Indiana has always been a state known for it strong spring fishery and lately the summer Coho fishery has been very strong. Any one care to give any thought as to why so many Platte river fish hold here all summer? When they leave it is almost like clock work. It will be in July, and can be as early as the first week in July or like this season hold on a few weeks longer due to cooler water and bait holding. Some talk about the old days but look at the time line graph. Even in the old days we didn't stock many. 

All true, Ed, but the rub is what would happen if Michigan or Wisconsin decided to put all their efforts into Kings and/or steelhead. There would be a "roughly" 75% decrease in the number of cohos stocked for our end of the lake. Also, and Ben might be able to look this up, I can't remember the last time any cohos were clipped or tagged. It's probably a good assumption Indiana hosts cohos from all the other states in the spring. However, we don't know, to my knowledge that if Michigan supplies 60% of the total coho, Indiana 10% etc, that our spring catch is 60% Michigan, 10% Indiana and so on. 

Anecdotal evidence makes me  believe Michigan's coho are now getting a bit more respect in Michigan the last few years than they used to get when there were millions of kings stocked in Michigan. That bodes well, but Lake Michigan's coho are still only the stroke of a budget-cutter's delete key from  becoming ancient history. And when they go, the chance of them ever coming back is poor. They'd be treated as an invasive species.  

 

Coho Salmon Coho salmon stocking has remained relatively stable for 50 years. There has been some movement of fish in the Grand River system to increase survival, and this has resulted in better fishing. Coho salmon are becoming more important in the fishery, especially when Chinook salmon numbers are down. The average cost was $47 per fish harvested in 2016. They can produce fall fisheries in ports and rivers that either don’t have or are limited in wild Chinook salmon runs. Stocking changes should consider moving stocking sites downstream and increasing ports to the south where there is a lack of wild production. The main risk to consider is how many coho salmon need to be stocked in Platte River to maintain broodstock for Michigan and other states. The options are 1) status quo or same as 2017; 2) move coho downstream in the Grand river; 3) Reduce Platte River by 50,000 and stock Saugatuck; 4) Reduce Platte by 50,000 and move 30,000 out of the St. Joe River and stock both Saugatuck and Muskegon (Indiana is increasing yearling Coho stocking in the St. Joe so there should be similar total numbers in the St. Joe as in 2017); 5) Reduce Platte River by 75,000 and stock Saugatuck, Muskegon, and increase Escanaba. Below are some options to consider for Coho Stocking: Site Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4 Option 5 Escanaba River 26,259 26,259 26,259 26,259 51,259 Boardman River 87,530 87,530 87,530 87,530 87,530 Platte River 800,000 800,000 750,000 750,000 725,000 Manistee River 87,530 87,530 87,530 87,530 87,530 Sable River 43,765 43,765 43,765 43,765 43,765 Muskegon 0 0 0 40,000 40,000 Grand River (Lansing) 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 Grand River (Lyons) 200,719 100,719 100,719 100,719 100,719 Rogue River 25,000 35,000 35,000 35,000 35,000 Grand River (Ada) 0 90,000 90,000 90,000 90,000 Saugatuck 0 0 50,000 40,000 40,000 St. Joe River (Berrien Springs) 131,295 131,295 131,295 101,295 101,295 Galien River 21,883 21,883 21,883 21,883 21,883 Total 1,473,981 1,473,981 1,473,981 1,473,981 1,473,981
Mike these  are proposed Coho stocking for the state of Michigan for 2018-2019. Notice the Platte numbers. One river stocking 700,000 to 800,000 Coho compared to the rest of Michigan. Wisconsin for an example just recently moved up to 500,000 Coho for the entire state.
But I guess time will give us a better look at what is going on with the Coho, as I think they are slated to be the next study fish. Nose tags and clips. For a 5 year study.