Fishermen cast lines into Lake Michigan off the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk pier in 2012.
Jon L. Hendricks, File, The Times
Indiana hooked a big catch of 168,000 Chinook salmon eggs to stock Lake Michigan with, but it's less than what the state had hoped for this year.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources landed the fish eggs from Wisconsin. The Chinook salmon eggs will be hatched at the Mixsawbah State Fish Hatchery and raised until this spring, when fingerlings will be released to stock the Great Lake that's a popular destination for fishing.
Highly prized by anglers, Chinook salmon account for a significant portion of the fish Indiana stocks in Lake Michigan.
“Partnerships are crucial for our Lake Michigan program, and we’re very grateful to Wisconsin DNR for going above and beyond to get these eyed eggs,” said Rob Ackerson, hatchery manager at Mixsawbah State Fish Hatchery.
Indiana initially aimed to put 225,000 Chinook salmon into Lake Michigan this year. Wisconsin however was only able to supply a portion of the Hoosier state's egg request because many of the eggs it harvested turned out not to be viable and by the time that was ascertained the Chinook spawning run already had ended.
“While we’re disappointed to not have our full complement of Chinooks for the 2021 stocking year, we’ll continue to roll with the punches this unpredictable year has delivered,” said Ben Dickinson, Lake Michigan biologist for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. “We will make Indiana’s Lake Michigan fishery the best we can with the cards we’re dealt.”
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