# For MI_STEELHEAD: Huron River Fish Ladder at Flatrock



## Kevin (Oct 4, 2000)

If you got the choice between leaving the fish ladder in Flat Rock open or disabling it on a trial basis, what would you choose, open, or disabled?


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## bigsablemike (Apr 26, 2005)

and just stop planting steel for pa and ny. the returns arent that great . ithink its money wasted.


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## MI_STEELHEAD (Jan 20, 2005)

I personally think it should be closed next year.

I have been fishing this river for a few years now. The majority of the paper I have read on it leads me to believe there is very little....if any reproduction of steelhead in the Huron. I think when they opened it up...that was the intention. I truly do appreciate the work that was done by volunteers. They actually got out and did something....which is more then I can say for myself on the topic. In my defense.....I pulled a boat load of trash out of the river last weekend. 

We need to look forward....and the fact is.....the fish ladder does not meet what I believe was its intended purpose.....reproduction water. Call it what it is....a great attempt that didn&#8217;t pan out. We need to accept it and cut our losses. Now the obvious point people often make is....it spreads the fish and gives you more places to go. Are there really that many public access points with enough fish up there to make it worth while? I question it. I think there are a hand full of people with water access and they definitely are seeing the rewards of this effort but I think the mass majority overall is hurt catching less fish per unit of effort put in.

This leads me to my "bang of the buck" theory. Over the past three years, I know a significant amount of people who just quit fishing this river. We have all read the posts......people wear thin with this steelhead fishery. Since the gov is pissing away money dropping in fish for our enjoyment in a non self sustaining river (thank you by the way) ....what we have down there is a big trout pond. I am ok with that. But what we should do, is look to get the max enjoyment for the money spent. 

Measuring enjoyment is asinine thought here I won't attempt to embarrass myself by assigning superficial values to results. What I do know though is, if you blocked those fish, and people actually started catching more fish in the park, you&#8217;d have 3 times as many people fishing for them. What I theorize is........a more production fishery in the lower river would by far benefit more SE fisherman then spreading a "minimal" amount of fish over more water. We don't get a big of a return IMO, why make that weak return worse by spreading the fish out. 

Keep in mind, if I lived on the river above the damn, I tear this message apart....but in my benefit I am truthfully thinking about the majority here. To be honest, I really don't want to see anymore boats hitting the river....but there would be....if there were more fish. 

I'd take more fishing traffic on the Huron if it came with more fish. 

Just my thoughts. It appears I am in the minority here but I am still interested in hearing everyones position.


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## MI_STEELHEAD (Jan 20, 2005)

Also, keep in mind this a specific question to the Huron. [/COLOR]
 
On other rivers I am pro ladder......I just haven't heard a good sell to leave it open on the Huron. I was thinking about taking a next step but I don't want to "pitch" something that my friends and fellow local fisherman don't agree with. 

If you voted for it because you agree with ladders in general, but not necessarily for the Huron..post a quick retraction so I can get a true feel. 

If my rambling turned you pro ladder when you already polled against the ladder....I can understand that to....post a quick retraction so I can get a true feel.


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## fishineddie (Jun 15, 2004)

i say close it too.. i cant find the thread but i swear i read it on this site that the return rate for the huron of the 60+ thousand stocked steelies(per year) only 3000 fish return, they just arent reproducing that well if any,and that is why i basically am going to keep any steelhead i catch(keepers only of course) im a 95% catch and release guy(only keep walleyes when in season) but it is a "put and take fishery"...so i say close that thing and let the games begin ..im down for some "combat fishing" crowds never bothered me and its kind of cool having an audience watching you fight a fish..i used to only fish for walleyes on the huron i just started fishing for steel a couple years ago,and the walleye fishing has always been good to me i caught some good ones out of there but the steel are a pain to catch consistently so if it helps me catch limits of steel on the huron close that waste of money and stack the steel from flatrock down...


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## Long Spurs (Mar 29, 2005)

I voted to keep the ladder open , due to the only info I have ever read on this stated that there would be more natural reproduction due to the amount of gravel above the ladder. We all would love to see more fish run the Huron but alot of this is based on stocking. For example look at OH. and PA. they stock a ton of fish, and look at their fishery. Anyone that would complain about hooking 10 fish a day, [OH. and PA. fisherman] should come to MI. and fish some of MI. rivers they probably wouldn't come back. Stocking is the most proable way for the Huron to substain a good run. Sorry , back to the subject. Does anone have any info on natural reproduction or ladder info on the Huron. There has to be some statistical info somewhere. Just my 2 cents.


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## MI_STEELHEAD (Jan 20, 2005)

Long Spurs, 

The big problem we have that most OH rivers and PA doesn't is the Huron runs off the Western basin of Erie. Great walleye fishing in the summer but it holds no Steel (very very few anyway). Too shallow and too warm. All the fish we get in the Huron prob run out to the lake and head to the Central basin (.....just past Put In Bay it drops to 60 + ft) all summer where I slay them. When it comes time to return, those fish have to run across the whole Western basin to find the Huron. It is my understand Steel don't drive back to where they were planted so we are lucky we are gettign what we get. If I was in the Central basin and was feeling lazy, I'd just go to OH too.


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## Long Spurs (Mar 29, 2005)

Great point MISTEELHEAD. Alot of MI. fish logically thinking do end up elsewhere but steelhead have a keen olfactory system that can detect scent in 3 parts per million of water, the chemical makeup of the water that they were stocked or born in. Thus bringing them back home. I'm sure some do end up in OH. and PA. to spawn.


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## Steelplugger (Mar 8, 2006)

I would vote to keep the ladder open, but in doing so I would like to see more access to the upper river. I am not sure how much the steelhead actually can reproduce in this river, but I have heard that there is alot of gravel in one of the metroparks, and I have seen firsthand reproduction working in one of the feeder creeks, (caught a 10" smolt 3 years ago). Of course do the young fish live through the warm summer months is a whole other question...


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