Cost of Angling Success Clarified

From March 23, 1993 (Update #16)

The increased water clarity in southern Lake Michigan attributed to zebra mussels has forced some long-range changes in angling techniques, according to charterboat captain Stephen Cedarburg of Seagull Sportfishing Charters, Milwaukee. Cedarburg said that last summer he had to "fish farther and farther offshore, troll faster, and fish closer to evening" when seeking salmon and rainbow trout. Although the zebra mussels have had little direct effect on his boat, he said that Lake Michigan charter captains and anglers will have to adjust their fishing techniques to deal with heightened water clarity. The lake's salmon and trout are found at the same water temperatures as in past years, Cedarburg said they avoid the well-lit conditions common this past summer in southern Lake Michigan. Similar observations have been reported by walleye anglers from western Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, who say walleyes are now found at different locations due to mussel-induced increases in water clarity.

ID: 19930323-5.

The Zebra Mussel Update was a 4- to 8-page quarterly national newsletter published by the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute from May 1990 through May 1997. The ZMU documented the spread of the zebra mussel -- an exotic nuisance mussel -- through North America's freshwater environments, especially the Great Lakes, and on efforts to control it.