A great resource for LMWCC is the MDNR’s Status of the Fishery Resource Report on the Little Manistee River.
LITTLE MANISTEE RIVER 1979-2022 FISHERIES SURVEYS Johnson’s Bridge Index Station
Mark A. Tonello
Introduction
The Little Manistee River is a 145,280-acre watershed (Tonello 2005) flowing through Lake, Mason, and Manistee Counties in the northwestern lower peninsula of Michigan. It originates from spring fed wetlands in eastern Lake County near the village of Luther and flows generally northwest until it empties into Manistee Lake near Stronach, Michigan. Manistee Lake empties into Lake Michigan, and therefore the majority of the Little Manistee River watershed is accessible to Great Lakes migratory fish including Pacific salmon and steelhead. The Little Manistee River serves as the MDNR Fisheries Division broodstock stream for nearly all Steelhead and Chinook Salmon stocked in Michigan. The only fish stocked in the Little Manistee River are Chinook Salmon, in order to ensure that enough return to the Little Manistee Weir to conduct an egg take. The Little Manistee Weir is the primary egg take station for MDNR for both Chinook Salmon and Steelhead.
The Johnson’s Bridge index station is located about three miles south of the Village of Irons, MI. The station length is 984 feet upstream from the Johnson Road crossing. On August 5, 2020, the station averaged 36.4 feet in width and 2.1 feet in depth, and discharge was measured at 84.4 cubic feet per second.
Upstream of Johnson’s Bridge, the Little Manistee River is regulated as a Gear Restricted stream, meaning that only artificial flies may be used. The daily possession for this reach of the Little Manistee River is two fish, with a 15-inch minimum size limit (msl) for Brown Trout and a 10-inch msl for all other trout or salmon species. Downstream of Johnson’s Bridge, the Little Manistee River is a Type 4 stream, open to all tackle types. The daily possession limit for Type 4 streams is 5 fish, with no more than three fish that are 15 inches or larger. The minimum size limit for Brown and Rainbow trout is 10 inches, for Brook trout it is 8 inches, and for Coho Salmon and Chinook Salmon it is 10 inches. In both the Gear Restricted and Type 4 reaches of the Little Manistee River, Brown and Brook Trout may only be kept during the traditional trout season, from the last Saturday in April until September 30. Rainbow Trout and Pacific salmon may be possessed during all open fishing seasons. In addition, the entire Little Manistee River is closed to fishing from January 1 through March 31 to protect the wild steelhead broodstock.
Methods and Materials
Beginning in 2002, the station was adopted as a Fixed Site in the Status and Trends Program. Per the protocol of the program (Wills et al. 2011), the station will be sampled for three consecutive years, and then not sampled for three consecutive years. In one of the three sampling years, habitat data will also be collected. Temperature data will also be recorded in each of the sampling years with the use of a continuous recording thermometer. This station was sampled by electrofishing in 1979, 1981, 1995, 20022004, and 2008-2010, 2014-2016, and 2020-2022 (Table 1). It will again be sampled in 2026. Habitat evaluation data was collected in 2002, 2008, 2014, and most recently in 2020 (Table 2). Temperature data for the station was recorded in numerous years as well (Table 3).
Results: See Table 1.
Discussion
The 2020-2022 data from the Johnson’s Bridge Station shows that the Little Manistee River consistently produces large year classes of Steelhead, and Coho Salmon, in addition to supporting a robust population of resident Brown Trout that attain large sizes. This is due to the combination of excellent spawning substrates, adequate habitat, and suitable water temperatures found in the Little Manistee River. Therefore, at present, the Little Manistee River remains as one of the most productive salmon, trout, and Steelhead streams in Michigan. However, climate change will pose a major threat to the Little Manistee River watershed and its fish populations in the future. The strategies described below should help provide resilience to the watershed to the effects of climate change.
Recommendations
The Little Manistee River supports a high level of natural reproduction for Brown trout, salmon, and steelhead. It also serves as the primary broodstock source for Chinook Salmon and the sole source of broodstock steelhead, supplying eggs for stocking programs in Michigan and other states. The Little Manistee River should be diligently protected from over-development and poor land-use practices by assisting EGLE, the office of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to evaluate permit applications and by advising local units of government of best management practices (BMP’s) in and around the watershed.
MDNR Fisheries Division should continue to work with the Little Manistee River Restoration Committee (LMRRC), which includes such non-profit groups as the Little Manistee Watershed Conservation Council, Conservation Resource Alliance, and Trout Unlimited; and governmental agencies such as MDEQ, USFS, USFWS, township and county commissions. The LMRRC has completed many projects in the watershed, including stabilizing eroding stream banks, replacing poor road/stream crossings, and installing instream fish cover. The LMRRC meets regularly to identify, plan, and prioritize habitat projects within the watershed.
Although fisheries habitat in the Little Manistee River is very good, the population of larger Brown trout and juvenile Steelhead could likely be increased by adding additional woody material to the river, in the form of artificial log jams, sweepers, and platform structures. The goals of such work should be to narrow and deepen the river, and in addition provide overhead cover for large, adult trout, and older (age 1+) juvenile Steelhead. Several projects of this nature have been completed in the watershed, but the potential for many more exists.
The Michigan Natural Rivers designation should also be considered for the Little Manistee River. Nearby rivers like the Pere Marquette, Pine, White, Upper Manistee, and Betsie are all state designated Natural Rivers. The Natural Rivers program uses private land zoning and proper public land management practices to ensure that the river is protected from unwise use and development activities. The Natural Rivers program has a proven track record and has been extremely effective in protecting other rivers in Michigan. The program has shown to not only protect but increases property values for landowners along designated streams (Leefers and Jones 1996). Designating the Little Manistee River as a Natural River would help to ensure that the Little Manistee River remains one of the best wild trout, salmon. and Steelhead streams in Michigan for future generations.
References
Leefers, L. A., and D. M. Jones. 1996. Phase II Final Report: Assessing changes in private property values along designated natural rivers in Michigan. Michigan State University, East Lansing. Tonello, M. A. 2005. Little Manistee River: Status of the Fishery Report. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries Division, Cadillac. Wills, T. C., T. G. Zorn, A. J. Nuhfer, and D. M. Infante. 2011 Draft. Stream Status and Trends Program sampling protocols. Chapter 26 in Manual of fisheries survey methods. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries internal document, Ann Arbor.
MDNR Fishery Resource Report
A great resource for LMWCC is the MDNR’s Status of the Fishery Resource Report on the Little Manistee River.
LITTLE MANISTEE RIVER 1979-2022 FISHERIES SURVEYS
Johnson’s Bridge Index Station
Mark A. Tonello
Introduction
The Little Manistee River is a 145,280-acre watershed (Tonello 2005) flowing through Lake, Mason, and Manistee Counties in the northwestern lower peninsula of Michigan. It originates from spring fed wetlands in eastern Lake County near the village of Luther and flows generally northwest until it empties into Manistee Lake near Stronach, Michigan. Manistee Lake empties into Lake Michigan, and therefore the majority of the Little Manistee River watershed is accessible to Great Lakes migratory fish including Pacific salmon and steelhead. The Little Manistee River serves as the MDNR Fisheries Division broodstock stream for nearly all Steelhead and Chinook Salmon stocked in Michigan. The only fish stocked in the Little Manistee River are Chinook Salmon, in order to ensure that enough return to the Little Manistee Weir to conduct an egg take. The Little Manistee Weir is the primary egg take station for MDNR for both Chinook Salmon and Steelhead.
The Johnson’s Bridge index station is located about three miles south of the Village of Irons, MI. The station length is 984 feet upstream from the Johnson Road crossing. On August 5, 2020, the station averaged 36.4 feet in width and 2.1 feet in depth, and discharge was measured at 84.4 cubic feet per second.
Upstream of Johnson’s Bridge, the Little Manistee River is regulated as a Gear Restricted stream, meaning that only artificial flies may be used. The daily possession for this reach of the Little Manistee River is two fish, with a 15-inch minimum size limit (msl) for Brown Trout and a 10-inch msl for all other trout or salmon species. Downstream of Johnson’s Bridge, the Little Manistee River is a Type 4 stream, open to all tackle types. The daily possession limit for Type 4 streams is 5 fish, with no more than three fish that are 15 inches or larger. The minimum size limit for Brown and Rainbow trout is 10 inches, for Brook trout it is 8 inches, and for Coho Salmon and Chinook Salmon it is 10 inches. In both the Gear Restricted and Type 4 reaches of the Little Manistee River, Brown and Brook Trout may only be kept during the traditional trout season, from the last Saturday in April until September 30. Rainbow Trout and Pacific salmon may be possessed during all open fishing seasons. In addition, the entire Little Manistee River is closed to fishing from January 1 through March 31 to protect the wild steelhead broodstock.
Methods and Materials
Beginning in 2002, the station was adopted as a Fixed Site in the Status and Trends Program. Per the protocol of the program (Wills et al. 2011), the station will be sampled for three consecutive years, and then not sampled for three consecutive years. In one of the three sampling years, habitat data will also be collected. Temperature data will also be recorded in each of the sampling years with the use of a continuous recording thermometer. This station was sampled by electrofishing in 1979, 1981, 1995, 20022004, and 2008-2010, 2014-2016, and 2020-2022 (Table 1). It will again be sampled in 2026. Habitat evaluation data was collected in 2002, 2008, 2014, and most recently in 2020 (Table 2). Temperature data for the station was recorded in numerous years as well (Table 3).
Results: See Table 1.
Discussion
The 2020-2022 data from the Johnson’s Bridge Station shows that the Little Manistee River consistently produces large year classes of Steelhead, and Coho Salmon, in addition to supporting a robust population of resident Brown Trout that attain large sizes. This is due to the combination of excellent spawning substrates, adequate habitat, and suitable water temperatures found in the Little Manistee River. Therefore, at present, the Little Manistee River remains as one of the most productive salmon, trout, and Steelhead streams in Michigan. However, climate change will pose a major threat to the Little Manistee River watershed and its fish populations in the future. The strategies described below should help provide resilience to the watershed to the effects of climate change.
Recommendations
References
Leefers, L. A., and D. M. Jones. 1996. Phase II Final Report: Assessing changes in private property values along designated natural rivers in Michigan. Michigan State University, East Lansing. Tonello, M. A. 2005. Little Manistee River: Status of the Fishery Report. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries Division, Cadillac. Wills, T. C., T. G. Zorn, A. J. Nuhfer, and D. M. Infante. 2011 Draft. Stream Status and Trends Program sampling protocols. Chapter 26 in Manual of fisheries survey methods. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries internal document, Ann Arbor.
Past Reports
2005 MNDR Fishery Resource Report Little Manistee River