Pennsylvania Club News
Please mark your calendars to be at Edward's Restaurant located at 909 Wilmington Road in New Castle on Friday, October 21 for the Fall Membership Meeting. Cocktails at 6 PM and Dinner at 7 PM.
Changes in Lake Huron's ecosystem and foodweb lead to collapse of Chinook salmon (report from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources). The ecosystem of Lake Huron has undergone fundamental change since about 1992. By the late 1990s, invasive-species-induced changes were manifested in the quality and character of Lake Huron's valuable recreational and commercial fisheries. The ecosystem changes were driven (principally) by 6 evidently permanent changes in the foodweb. The report may be downloaded here (pdf file).
The Eastern Georgian Bay Stewardship Council has published its 2010 Annual Report, which may be viewed here. If you're not up to reading the entire 27 page report, then you are encouraged to read the summary. It contains information about the Moon River Walleye Rehabilitation work being done, more information about which is available several paragraphs further down this page.
In May of 2008, the Upper Great Lakes Management Unit (UGLMU), of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), with funding support from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), conducted a muskellunge population assessment survey in the Moon River delta of eastern Georgian Bay. Those of you on the May trip may have seen the trapnets set up in Clear Bay, Portage Bay and Port Rawson. One result of a visit to the club in late September by Eric McIntyre, was that we were able to obtain the results of that survey. Download the PDF file here for the full report.
Birding at the Pennsylvania Club: Bob and Len Bryant are avid bird watchers. During their last two May trips, they cataloged all the birds they saw or heard. If you're interested in their tally of birds, here are their lists of birds seen or heard at the club:
Wondering how to get started in bird watching? Bob has written an excellent introduction titled World Class Birding at the Pennsylvania Club. Give it a try! A fun activity for all and something enjoyable for the non-angler and even for you when you're all fished-out.
There has been a big push lately to revive the Moon River walleye fishery. The Eastern Georgian Bay Stewardship Council and the Ministry of Natural Resources (among other agencies) have drafted a rehabilitation plan that should be implemented in the near future. Here are some documents that should be of interest to all members and guests. The draft plan is kind of long, but it does shed some light on why the walleye fishery has been in such a decline for many years. These are all PDF files.
Walleye Rehab Plan Cover Letter (2 pages)
Walleye Rehab Plan Final Draft (26 pages)
2007 Walleye Spawners Report (17 pages)
Eastern Georgian Bay Stewardship Council - who & what they are
How to Attract Nesting Bass to Your Shoreline (no, not walleye related, but might make a good club project)
The image below doesn't look like much, but if you click on it, you can see its larger version which shows the historical levels of Lake Huron. You can see that the Lake is close to its historic lows and has been well below average since 1999. Graph taken from the Canadian Hydrographic Service website.
