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Friday, SEPTEMBEr 25, 2015 | www.cadillacnews.com cadillac nEwS | TruSTEd. local. connEcTEd E1

fall outdoorsRecreation, Hunting & Fishing

By Andy duffycadillac nEwS

CADILLAC — Officials with Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources are hopeful that the upcoming deer season will not be a repeat of last year’s disappointing season.

Michigan’s 2014 deer har-vest was down 15 percent from 2013. In the northwestern part of the Lower Peninsula, the harvest of antlerless deer dropped by 20 percent while 4 percent fewer bucks were taken.

That was nothing compared to the Upper Peninsula, where the hunter success was down a whopping 36 percent. Still, the numbers equated to a dis-appointing season for a lot of area hunters.

That was then; this is now.Chad Stewart, the agency’s

deer, elk and moose manage-ment specialist, said he is receiving good reports from DNR field personnel.

See Antler-point restrictions on pAge H2

nEwS FilE PhoTo

In 2013 the Marion buck pole was loaded with bucks on opening day. DNR officials are optomistic this year season’s numbers will be up from 2014.

A better deer season on the horizon?There is

encouraging news in last year’s

dismal numbers

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Services has teamed up with the Michigan Depart-ment of Natural Resources Fisheries Division to pro-vide a unique community service option for proba-tioners.

Impact Youth Services, LLC, is the service provid-er for intensive probation services in Wexford and Missaukee counties.

The Honorable Kenneth L. Tacoma and Honorable Charles Parsons, the pre-siding Family Court judges for Wexford and Missaukee counties, have a shared vi-sion about the importance of employability skills being taught to young of-fenders.

Breaking from tradi-tional types of community service work sites was very important in assur-ing a consistent learning environment for youth to develop valuable work skills. The program that developed has been mutu-ally beneficial to both the MDNR and the youth as-signed to the program.

Youth who have been as-signed community service work by the courts are su-pervised by Impact Youth Services LLC staff, while they work side-by-side with fisheries division bi-

ologists and technicians. Youth do lawn mainte-

nance, fish-blocking weir maintenance on the Little Manistee River and fish population/habitat sur-veys on area streams.

All of the work is done with MDNR personnel and the youth are constantly supervised by MDNR and Impact staff.

The goal is to provide a class-room type setting for learning and a “real-life” work experience at the same time.

The MDNR personnel have proven to be excel-lent field teachers and are able to provide a “summer science class” without the youth even realizing how much they are learning.

MDNR Habitat Biologist, Mark Tonello, teaches the youth how to identify fish, explains the importance of the work they are doing and reinforces the impor-tance of the youth complet-ing their education.

MDNR Harrietta Fisher-ies Crew technicians set a great work ethic example and make the work very fun for the youth in addi-tion to setting a consistent, realistic work pace.

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See Cleaner forEst on E5

ContinuEd from pagE E1

“The reports from the field are giving opti-mism,” Stewart said.

Despite another cold winter, good numbers of does survived the arctic blasts and last spring saw a good crop of fawns.

And buried in last year’s dismal figures is some encouraging

news. Part of the reason last autumn’s deer har-vest was down was that fewer hunters took to the woods.The disappoint-ing numbers were partly explained by the decrease in the number of hunters who took to the woods. The area saw 10,000 fewer hunters than it did the previous year.

The decline, from

135,000 hunters to 125,000, represented about an 8 percent drop. DNR of-ficials attribute at least part of the drop to tough weather conditions, so there may have been deer that would have been taken that were left for this season. (In spite of the challenging condi-tions, deer hunters in the northern lower peninsula

took 41,415 bucks during the firearms season.)

And, of course, this fall will mark the third season the antler-point restrictions in the north-western portion of the Lower Peninsula will have been in effect. The bucks hunters couldn’t take in 2013 and 2014, the ones that didn’t succumb to cars, poaching or some other mortal event, will be around and will be big-ger and badder than ever.

It isn’t just DNR field personnel who are deliv-ering good reports, either.

Teresa Van Assche, an Osceola County mail car-rier, likes what she sees.

Van Assche regularly travels a large swath of Osceola County on the mail routes she covers. An avid deer hunter, she pays attention to cervid populations.

While she delivers mail, she always sees lots of

does and fawns. This year, however, she is seeing more and larger bucks than she ever has.

Plus, another El Niño is making waves out in the Pacific Ocean. If it af-fects Michigan’s weather the way meteorologists believe it will, hunters probably won’t have deep snow to contend with this deer season. Trying to forecast anything like deer hunting success is a tricky proposition. If

the cards fall just right, though, this could be a great fall in the north-western Lower Peninsula.

What if this season ends up being as bad as last year’s, though?

Well, imagine the Tigers with a .410 team batting average. That is how well Michigan’s hunters did in 2014. Forty-one percent of them across the state took home some venison. That is hardly a number to scoff about.

PhoTo courTesy oF The dnr

dnr officials says a large number of does survived last winter’s brutual weather and this spring saw a large number of fawns.

This is the third season for antler-point restrictions

Young offenders make positive impact for DNR

PhoTo courTesy oF scoTT waTson

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By Rick chaRmolicadillac nEwS

Some of the best fish-ing of the year is about to start and consider yourself

lucky as you are pretty much right in the middle of it all if you live or play in the Cadillac area.

As the fall salmon run starts, it will not be uncom-

mon for there to be count-less anglers lining the banks of rivers at any time of the day trying to hook a fish traveling up stream. While the rivers likely will

be crowded, inland lakes are all but empty and full of opportunities.

Find out where you should go and what the fishing outlook is for this fall and early winter in the Cadillac area.

2015 FALL SALMON OUTLOOK

According to DNR Fisheries Biologist Mark Tonello, this year’s salmon run has started slowly. The

Manistee and Betsie River have seen several pushes of Chinooks, starting on Labor Day weekend, but not big numbers yet.

In most years, most of the big kings will be through the pierheads and into the river systems by mid-September. Things seem to be behind by sever-al weeks this year, as Lake Michigan salmon anglers are still reporting catches of adult Chinooks out in the lake.

He also mentioned that this could be a slower year for overall numbers of salmon.

“There are simply fewer salmon in the lake than there were several years ago. There are fewer ale-wives, so fewer Chinooks survive their first year in the lake. Because of the re-duced forage base, we have cut back on stocking in order to conserve the for-age base that we have left. We don’t want to crash the whole fishery by overstock-ing predators into a lake where there isn’t a whole lot to eat.”

He also wanted to remind anglers that snagging is illegal as is lining fish. If a person is fishing for salm-on they have to be trying to get them to hit their lure. He added that a person can get a ticket for attempting to snag, too.

Also, there are new rules in effect for the Manistee, Betsie, and Big Sable Riv-ers this year, and also for Bear Creek. In those waters, it is now illegal to use a treble hook, unless it is attached to a lure, like a Rapala, Thunderstick, spinner, or spoon. So an-glers wanting to fish bait or flies must use a single hook.

See Salmon on page e4

nEwS FilE PhoTo

While the river banks will be crowded for a month or so this fall, inland lakes will be vacated and open.

If you really like fishing, you are in luckThis area is right in the middle of some of the best fishing anywhere, and fall is one of the best times to hit the water

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Continued from page e3

Also the “lead minnow” that was popular with many snaggers also is now illegal.

“You don’t have to be caught snagging to get a ticket,” he said. “Last year, our Conservation Officers mounted a huge effort on the Manistee and Betsie Rivers and wrote hun-dreds of tickets for illegal fishing activity. We plan to be even more proactive this year in certain areas; for example, the vicinity of Tippy Dam.”

Hot SpotSFor the next couple

weeks, Tonello said there will be decent fishing off piers, such as those in Frankfort or Manistee. He also said small boat an-glers will be able to troll in the harbors near the piers.

By late September, Tonello said fish should be in the rivers. He added that weather can change that by a week, but they are usually past the pier heads by the end of Sep-tember. The three main rivers are the Big Man-istee, Betsie and Pere Mar-quette.

“As it gets later in Sep-tember and into October, they get to the gravel and start spawning. Usually the peak of spawning is the second week of Octo-ber,” he said.

In 2012, the Department of Natural Resources closed a portion of the lower Betsie River and the eastern end of the Betsie Bay to fishing due to low water levels that left mi-grating Chinook salmon and steelhead vulnerable to illegal harvest. Recent weather patterns have resulted in water levels re-turning to normal condi-tions, so the spawning clo-sure placed on the Betsie River mouth is no longer necessary.

The lifting of the closure by Michigan Natural Re-sources Commission on Sept. 10 went into effect immediately.

New restrictions on artificial lures have been implemented on the Bet-sie River and a few other locations, so be sure to check online for the most

up-to-date regulations information. Other spawn-ing regulations are in effect in various parts of the state at certain points of the year. For a complete list, review the Exceptions to General Regulations by County in the 2015 Michi-gan Fishing Guide.

SteeLHeadOnce Halloween is

around the corner, Tonello said anglers looking to hook a steelhead or Rain-bow Trout should head out on the Pere Marquette,

Little Manistee, Betsie, Manistee Rivers and Bear Creek. He added that the fall steelhead run occurs when there is a lot of rain in October and November.

If we have a dry, cold fall, we won’t get a good fall steelhead run, he said.

The steelhead that come in the fall just hang out in the river and wait for the spring spawn. Like the salmon run earlier in the fall, Tonello said there are opportunities to hook one off the piers on Lake Michigan in Ludington,

Manistee and Frankfort. There also is a chance to hook one off the surf in those areas north or south of the piers. While last year’s fall steelhead run wasn’t very good for river anglers, those fishing the surf and the piers had a banner year.

otHer fiSHing opportunitieS

While the river banks will be crowded for a month or so, inland lakes will be vacated and open. Tonello said fishing for walleye this summer on lakes Cadillac and Mitch-ell has been good. It typi-cally tails off in July and August, but picks back up as the water temperatures cool off. With that in mind, Tonello said walleye fish-

ing should be good in late September, October and November.

When it comes to pan fish, bass and pike, it is some of the best fishing of the year. He attributed that to the fact that the water temperatures are dropping and species like northern pike like the cooler tem-peratures. Pan fishing also can be good, especially for perch or crappie. That remains until the lakes freeze, he said. The lakes he recommended were Cadillac, Mitchell, Missau-kee, Houghton Lake, Tippy Pond and Hodenpyl Pond.

Winter fiSHingTonello said the area has

two of the better northern pike and crappie lakes in northern Michigan in Lakes Cadillac and Mitch-ell. The last two winters have been tough for ice anglers, mostly because of the intense cold and abun-dant snow.

He expects this winter will again be good for us-ing tip-ups and spearing for pike. He added that walleye fishing should continue to improve on Lakes Cadillac and Mitch-ell, as it has for the past several years.

Lake Missaukee is good for panfish, bluegill and sunfish, in particular, Tonello said. Although the first two weeks and last two weeks of ice are con-sidered the best ice, Tonel-lo said on local lakes pike and crappie can be caught throughout the season.

The free fishing weekend this winter is scheduled for Feb. 13 and 14. During that weekend, anyone can fish without a license, but still must follow state fish-ing laws.

courTesy dnr | dave Kenyon

a salmon is caught by an angler in this dnre courtesy photo. fall and winter are great times for fishing and can even be better than the spring and summer.

Peak spawning time for salmon coming soon

news File PhoTo

Lakes Cadillac and mitchell are well known for thier northern pike and crappie during the winter.

Good luck hunters!

kelly’sdeer processinG

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19077 12 Mile Road • Big Rapids, MI • 231-796-5414email: [email protected] • www.kellysdeerprocessing.com


Continued from e2

In addition to helping the fisheries division, Impact has coordinated a forest clean-up partner-ship with MDNR Forest Resource Division. The MDNR provides funding through the Adopt-a-For-est program for landfill tipping fees.

Probationers pick up trash at GPS identified sites provided by MDNR Conservation Officers. The garbage is trans-ported by Impact Youth Services personnel and the youth to the Wexford County Landfill.

The MDNR reimburses Impact for the tipping fees paid to the landfill.

Probationers have re-moved about 31 tons of re-fuse from the state and na-tional forests in Wexford and Missaukee counties.

When this program started, Wexford County had the most dump sites of any of Michigan’s 83 counties, but that has been

reduced to the point where Wexford now ranks much better statewide.

Impact Youth Services, LLC’s Scott Watson, who provides most of the summer program super-vision, says one of the only draw-backs to the program is the disgust that is felt when the crew has to clean up the same two-tracks and dumpsites each year because of the thoughtless actions of a small number of people.

“The same few people are trashing our forests each year,” Watson said. “It becomes very obvi-ous that this is the case because the crew finds the same types of materi-als dumped in the same places every summer.”

He added that the educa-tion of our youth about il-legal dumping is probably the most important lesson learned.

“I ask every youth the same question after an eight-hour day of picking up garbage in 80 degree

heat,” Watson said. “When I ask them if they are ever going to litter again they all say they won’t and that they are going to tell their friends not to litter too.

“It is very satisfying to think that we may be mak-ing a difference in their future attitudes about environmental aware-ness and the value of our natural resurces,” Watson said.

The final component of the program is the end of the summer reward trip. Youth who exhibit exemplary effort and work extra hours have a chance to earn an end of the summer reward trip that is voted on by the partici-pants.

Options include charter fishing on Lake Michigan, shopping trips and profes-sional sporting events.

This component has proven to be very popular and youth have a chance to do something that they otherwise may have never been able to do.

“This component has been questioned by some as providing a reward to youth who have commit-ted crimes,” Watson said. “Nothing could be further from the truth. Youth are rewarded not for getting into trouble but rather for making lifestyle changes and for putting forth self-less effort to help make the community a better place for everyone.”

The 2015 reward trip was a trip to Comerica Park to watch the Tigers play the L.A. Angels and the youth were lucky enough to go to a game that Justin Verlander took a no-hitter into the ninth inning.

If anyone has questions about this program or how to replicate it in other ar-eas, Scott Watson from Im-pact Youth Services, LLC, is available at 231-920-6956.

Probationers’ work means cleaner forest

PhoTo courTESy oF ScoTT waTSon

Probationers remove 15 foot fiberglass boat from the woods near the Cadillac Pathways.

By Andy duffyCadillaC News

After grouse populations bottomed out a couple of years ago, they should be on the upswing this year.

It is all part of that famous, 10-year grouse cycle. Hunters experience five years of increasing bird populations and then five years of decreasing numbers.

According to the cal-culations of the bird biologists, Michigan is back on the rising axis on the grouse population graph. If not a banner year, indications are good that Michigan hunters could see a decent grouse season this year, Eric El-lis, regional biologist with the Ruffed Grouse Society, said.

Ellis bases his forecast on several factors. First, in Northern Michigan, where most of the state’s grouse reside, winter weather conditions were good for grouse survival. Much of the winter saw suitable show-roosting conditions.

Also, temperatures in much of the state were well above average in a crucial time for the surviv-al of young chicks. Early May was dry, too.

Only near the end of the month, Ellis said, was there significant pre-cipitation, a condition that could have adversely af-fected nesting grouse and recently hatched chicks.

Some drumming survey routes reports, Ellis said, had results similar to last year’s. Many others were up 20 to 40 percent over last year’s.

On the down side, there are reports that some of last year’s broods had only two to four chicks.

Localized events can

have a dramatic effect on what an individual hunter experiences in the field, and wet weather at the end of May, coming right when eggs were hatching, may have affected grouse, Ellis said. Translation: Grouse populations may be better in some areas than others.

If a hunter doesn’t find grouse where he usually hunts, he should find a co-vert down the road a ways.

As a general rule in Michigan, the farther north a person hunts, the more grouse he’ll find. The Upper Peninsula usually

has the state’s best hunt-ing, and drumming sur-veys suggest that will be true again this year. The

land above the bridge just has more acres of suitable grouse habitat than are found in the Lower Penin-

sula.And speaking of habitat,

many foresters and field biologists have told Ellis

the acorn and beechnut crops will be good this year.

Besides looking among young aspens for grouse, hunters should make forays into the oaks. Bet-ter yet, they should look for seams where groves of young aspen butt up against mature oak for-ests.

Grouse season opened in Michigan Sep. 15. It will run until Nov. 14. It will re-open Dec. 1 and continue through Jan. 1, 2016.

For those bird hunt-ers seeking a mixed bag, woodcock populations are apparently continuing their downward trend.

The U.S. Fish and Wild-life data from Michigan surveys indicate popula-tions of the long-billed lit-tle feather duster are down another 0.9 percent or so from last year’s numbers. The long-term average is a decline of 0.7 percent a year. Last year, though, saw a 4.4 percent decrease.

Weather conditions for woodcock brood rearing were better than they were for grouse, a fact that leads to optimism about this fall’s hunting.

Hunters should look for woodcock among tag alders and in stands of young aspen.

Michigan’s woodcock season runs from Sep. 19 - Nov. 2.

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E6 CadillaC News | TrusTed. loCal. CoNNeCTed www.cadillacnews.com | Friday, sePTeMBer 25, 2015

Biologists upbeat about 2015 grouse season

PhoTo CourTesy oF dave JohNsoN

Many grouse hunters wait to pursue grouse until leaves have begun to fall. Experienced grouse hunters begin their hunts near or in stands of aspen, those trees with silver bark whose leaves turn a brilliant yellow in autumn.

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Documents

Outdoor Guide 15