    
Capt. James Schlegel (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Rating: 
Votes: 117 | | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 4:04 am: | |
The official 2003 Lake Michigan harvest report has just been released to the public. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources annually compiles data submitted by all licensed Wisconsin guides. In addition, creel surveys are also conducted at various boat ramps through out the state. The information is then used to access and evaluate the health and condition of our Great Lakes fishery. I have been tracking the results in the Sheboygan area for the past 5 years and have provided the results to the Sheboygan Area Great Lakes Sport Fishermen club for review. Copies of the report and a summary will be made available at all SAGLSF club meetings. This years report indicates Sheboygan area charter captains enjoyed another successful season. All indicators were up this year. The report shows 24 licensed guides fishing out the port of Sheboygan (same number as 2002). The Sheboygan charter fishing fleet reported 1563 trips ran, an increase of 4% from 2002. The fish harvest numbers showed 12,532 fish caught aboard Sheboygan charter boats, an increase of 21% compared with the 2002 results. The majority of those fish being Chinook Salmon. Sheboygan charter effort also indicated an increase in the catch per trip. This years average was 8.0 fish per trip, compared to 6.9 in 2002. Overall the report suggests an improved fishery as well as a steady increase in charter fishing activity. The 2003 season was the best in over a decade. Raw data for the entire Wisconsin Lake Michigan harvest was provided by Brad Eggold, Fisheries Supervisor for the Wisconsin DNR. For current fishing reports see www.fishsheboygan.com |
