By Carol Stiffler
Big Manistique Lake is not what she used to be.
Anglers remember the good old days of dropping a line into the murky green water and reeling in a satisfying walleye. These days, the water is clearer (thanks to prolific zebra mussels) and warmer (thanks to climate change) and dotted with hungry cormorants (thanks to migration). And these days, anglers say it’s much harder to catch walleye in Big Manistique Lake.
There are plenty of walleye in the lake, according to fisheries biologists with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Their estimate, formed by extensive counts and shoreline surveys, is that there are more than 20,000 walleye in the lake.
Darren Kramer shared that statistic with more than 30 people who attended a Wednesday, Feb. 26 meeting at the Curtis Community Building. He was there to present a proposed slot limit (PSL) and reduced catch limit on Big Manistique and Milakokia lakes.
“There’s lots of work being done on walleye,” Kramer said, speaking of his department’s study of the popular species.
Kramer said what has sparked concern with the DNR is the poor survival rates they’re finding for young walleye in Big Manistique Lake. Fall surveys look for zero-year-old fish hatched that spring to indicate how well the youngest walleye fared. For the last six years in a row, they’ve fared very poorly – having low or very low success since 2018. Essentially, generations of the youngest walleye are hardly present in the lake.
To help more young survive, the DNR has suggested a slot limit that would protect all walleye that are 18-23 inches in length.
“That’s what the PSL is designed to do – to increase the abundance of those sexually mature fish,” Kramer said.
Walleye sized between 15 and less than 18 inches could be kept, or greater than 23 inches.
The proposal also includes a reduction in daily catch limits – from five walleye down to three – and would only allow one fish over 23 inches.
The proposal, at this time, suggests the slot limit “experiment” would be conducted over 10 years, potentially starting on April 1, 2026, if it is adopted.
Audience members offered other suggestions, too, like closing the walleye season at the end of February to protect spawning females. Kramer wrote down all suggestions and noted comments from resort owners who said the lake’s walleye fishing is so bad that they’re losing business as their guests search for more promising fishing holes.
John Rahn, a Curtis resident who owns Sand and Stars resort and provides guided fishing tours, suggested that the lake’s abundant bass may also be eating the baby walleye. Conditions in the lake are becoming more appealing for bass, Kramer agreed.
Rahn asked if anglers could keep 14-inch walleye, then, if the larger fish are protected. Kramer advised that the DNR wants to keep minimum lengths the same across the state to prevent confusion.
Angler buy-in is essential, Kramer said. If anglers won’t cooperate with the measure, it’s pointless.
At the end of the meeting, Kramer polled the audience. How many of you can live with a walleye slot limit on Big Manistique Lake? About 20 hands went up.
How many of you cannot live with it? he asked.
No hands went up.
