Indigo Guide Service

I cannot imagine a more perfect summer location than Ludington and the other communities on the northern Lake Michigan coast.

The Grand Rapids Press, Electric barrier on Pere Marquette turned off; chemical treatment continues for sea lamprey by Howard Meyerson
Appeared:  January 31st, 2010
 

SCOTTVILLE — Attempting to stop sea lamprey with an electric barrier has become a thing of the past on the Pere Marquette River, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials. The federal agency recently announced it no longer will operate its electric weir there and will resume treating the river only with chemical lampricides.

Officials said the aging barrier didn’t work well and would be too costly to replace. So its river-bottom electrodes won’t be powered up this March as they have been since the 1980s.

“We’ve reduced the larval populations (sea lamprey) in the river to 10 to 20 percent of what the average is without the barrier, but that is still thousands of larvae that still require treatment,” said Greg Klingler a biologist with the FWS Marquette Biological Station.

“We get some benefits from the (electric) weir, but it’s not cost-effective.”

Critics are pleased with the decision. Some claim the electric field hinders the upstream steelhead migration. Others say its presence spoils the river.

No one is happy about the need to continue chemical treatment of the river with TFM, (3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol), a lampricide used to kill lamprey in their larval stage. It is applied every three to four years and has no toxic effects on other fish, although it can affect certain aquatic insects.

The electric barrier was to have made chemical treatment obsolete.

“Having the electric weir and chemical treatment is a double insult to the river,” said Paul Bigford of Branch, president of the Pere Marquette Watershed Council. “Neither seems to eliminate the lamprey, and even though they have had the electric weir running at quite an expense, it has not made a single TFM treatment unnecessary.”

Bigford said his group agrees with the FWS decision to turn the device off.

So does Kevin Morlock, owner of Indigo Guide Service in Walhalla. Morlock, a fishing guide, said he plans to advertise that the electric barrier is kaput.

The Pere Marquette is his company’s “home” river. Winter steelhead fishing, he said, has suffered since the barrier went in. He and other anglers have challenged the FWS to improve fish passage around the barrier.

When the barrier was built in the late 1980s, there was no way for migrating fish to get by it. It was modified twice during the ensuing years to make it easier for migrating fish to get upstream. It will pass from 2,000 to 7,000 steelhead annually, according to Klingler, who estimates 50 percent to 70 percent of the run gets upstream.

“I’m 100 percent in favor of its removal,” Morlock said. “It’s had a significant effect on the upstream migration of steelhead and the downstream migration of young salmon.

“We were originally assured that the fish barrier was going to allow unrestricted fish passage. They made it sound like the bugs were worked out and we would get rid of the evil chemicals. I believed it, and I am embarrassed that I supported it.”

Electric lamprey barriers have been in use on three Michigan rivers, including the Jordan and Ocqueoc rivers. They are among the various methods the FWS uses to control lamprey in an effort to meet a Great Lakes Fishery Commission goal of reducing TFM use by 20 percent this year.

The agency also uses trapping, sterile male releases and low-head dams where appropriate.

The Jordan River electric barrier was turned off four to five years ago and removed last year for similar reasons. The Ocqueoc River barrier continues to operate effectively, Klingler said. But electricity is turned on only when water levels rise to a point that lamprey might swim over the low-head dam that was built to stop them.

Building a similar dam on the Pere Marquette would likely be infeasible, Klingler said. Replacement of the barrier was estimated at $500,000, plus another $60,000 to $70,000 a year to operate. TFM treatments cost $500,000 every three to four years.

It is uncertain whether lamprey migrated upstream before during or after the electric barrier was turned, but they managed to get upstream. TFM is more of sure thing, Klingler said. It kills several lamprey year classes at once.

Lamprey trapping will continue at the electric barrier site. The animals caught there are used in the FWS sterile-male program. But the site will be less productive without the electricity, Klingler said. It typically contributes 250 to 300 male lamprey to the 1,500 to 2,000 collected from Michigan rivers for the program.

“I’ve got no qualms about treating the river with TFM in the future,” said Jim Dexter, the Lake Michigan basin fisheries coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment. “It’s a good decision with regard to the FWS and fish commission business model, too.

“That barrier was expensive to operate and maintain. It was time consuming and it didn’t work the way everyone had hoped. The river still needed to be treated with TFM.”

E-mail Howard Meyerson at hmeyerson@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/HMeyerson

Photo Credits and Captions:
1st photo – Courtesy Photo | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  The electric lamprey barrier facility on the Pere Marquette River in Scottville was deemed ineffective, so U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials turned it off.
2nd photo – Courtesy Photo | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  A close-up of an eel-like sea lamprey, considered an invasive species.
3rd photo – Press Graphic
4th Photo – Howard Meyerson | The Grand Rapids Press.  Anglers drift in search of salmon on the lower Pere Marquette River in the fall.

Indigo Guide Mark Knee posted a video/slide show of his favorite photos from 2009 set to music.  He shows off some nice pics of salmon, steelhead, trout and our beautiful Pere Marquette River.  Mark wants to thank everyone for a great year!  Mark posted this on YouTube on December 17, 2009.  You can also view here on YouTube.

Mark also run his own map business… TrophyMaps

You can view other articles and videos on our Articles & Videos Page

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the crew at Indigo.

May your future and not your stockings be filled with steelhead!!!!!!!

The article "The Pere Marquette – A Two Way Street" by Kevin Morlock appeared in Beaver Island’s NorthernIslander in the November 2009 issue.  You can visit the NorthernIslander web site here.

The Pere Marquette – A Two Way Street by Kevin Morlock

Jeff Powers with his 39 inch king salmon

Spending the last few summers working as a fishing guide on Beaver Island has become more than a means to and end, it’s become my lifestyle. The easy going demeanor of the island, inspired by the residents who make up the fabric of Beaver, has provided the perfect haven for expanding my business and charting new territory in the world of Michigan fly fishing.

Of course, I’ve learned to recognize Beaver Island for what it is; a throw back to a way life once lived all across America. A place where community means something. Neighbors helping neighbors, and individuals working together to inspire a sense of togetherness amongst all who

Guide and author Kevin Morlock

carve their life from the pristine natural elements of a place yet to spoiled by the hands of progress.It has taken a couple years, but I’m really beginning to feel at home.  I hope it’s because you recognize my understanding of how special your place is; just as it is. My goal has been to fit in as a believer in Beaver’s mystique, while bringing the right kind of visitors to your home. Hopefully, my fishing clients have made a little impact on the overall economic achievement of the island.

One aspect of advancement I’ve made with the locals that has made me especially proud, is the fact that some of you are beginning to come down to fish with me at my home near Ludington on the beautiful Pere Marquette River.

Dr. Jeff Powers and his son, Forrest, came down this past August to fish for King salmon. Jeff, an avid Beaver Island salmon fisherman, caught the largest king of his life, a 39-incher.

The Pere Marquette River is a very special waterway. The history of the river includes the first stocking of brown trout in North America, and today the PM is the only major river in West Michigan that doesn’t receive stockings of salmon and steelhead. All of the fish we target are naturally produced fish. I assume that you, my friends from the pristine

Forrest Powers and a king salmon taken on the Pere Marquette River

natural paradise of Beaver Island, can appreciate this fact.

The last two summers, I have hosted Indiana based outdoor writer Brandon Butler on Beaver Island. Aside from serving as Public Affairs Specialist for Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources, Brandon writes for a number outdoor publications, including Michigan’s Woods N Water News. He’s fished with me a number of times on the PM, as well.

“I just don’t know how you can stand it, dividing your time between the two paradises you call home,” he said. “Of course, I tell all my fly fishing friends about how amazing Beaver Island is, but that’s not to take away from the Pere Marquette. I’ve lived in Montana and Colorado, and given one day left to live, you’d find my standing knee deep somewhere in the steelhead and salmon filled waters of the PM. There’s definitely be some Beaver Island “sand in my shoes,” though.’”

Gavin West has taken several guided trips with me on the Pere Marquette. We’ve fly fished for spring steelhead, and thrown both crankbaits and flies for fall salmon.  Each trip has been wonderful. I’ve greatly enjoyed learning more about life on Beaver Island from my new friends.

"Steelhead fishing on the Pere Marquette with Kevin is amazing. He and the other guides who work for his company, Indigo Guide Service, are just simply great guys and incredible fishermen. There’s lots of fish, lots of action, and the beauty of the Pere Marquette River is breathtaking. But what really brings it all together, is the strength and aerial acrobatics of the fish in the PM. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced anywhere else."

Gavin West and a steelhead

You have been so gracious to me as a new business person on the Island. I can only hope I have progressed in ways that have made you comfortable with my presence. All I can say is that I love the lifestyle of Beaver, and respect your desire to maintain your special way of life. So please accept this invitation to come on down to my home water, the Pere Marquette River. I’d love to share a day on the water with you.

Guided fishing trips for salmon or steelhead can be booked with Kevin by email at Kevin@indigoguideservice.com or by phone at (231) 898-4320. For more information and to view pictures of what PM fish look like, visit www.indigoguideservice.com.

<<You can find lots of information about the island at the Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce site.
>>Jeff Powers is the islands veterinarian and owner of Powers’ Do it Best Hardware and Lumber.
<<Laurain Lodge is a great place to stay!
>>McDonough’s Market — We often have guest happily stay at some of the McDonough’s rental properties.
<<Fresh Air Aviation is a great way to get on and off the island quickly.
>>Beaver Island Boat Company — One of my favorite things is standing on the ferry deck in May watching the island get closer and  knowing that I won’t have to leave until August!