Daily lake trout possession limit on Grand Traverse Bay reduced to one for 2019
GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is reminding anglers fishing for lake trout in the Grand Traverse Bay of the new regulation that is now in effect.
During a meeting in Lansing on Thursday, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission acted to reduce the daily possession limit of lake trout in these waters from two fish to one.
The lake trout season runs January 1 through September 30.
The previous daily limit was two fish with a 15-inch minimum size limit.
Effective Friday, April 12, and for the rest of the 2019 season, the daily possession limit is one fish with a 15-inch minimum size limit.
The DNR said most anglers who attended the March 6 public meeting in Traverse City preferred this change over other regulatory options.
According to the DNR, the regulation change was necessary because the 2018 recreational harvest limit for lake trout in Grand Traverse Bay was exceeded.
The limits support population rehabilitation and maintain sustainable harvest.
“We would encourage anglers to keep the first lake trout they catch and then shift to targeting other species,” said Heather Hettinger, a local DNR fisheries biologist. “Lake trout are not good targets of catch-and-release fishing, because about 40% of those that are caught and released won't survive to be caught again.”
DNR officials said this specific regulation change is not listed in the printed version of the 2019 Michigan Fishing Guide, however, it is reflected in the electronic version.
The change also is noted on the DNR’s Fishing Regulations Hotline (888-367-7060).
