Kristin Thomas, biologist for Michigan Trout Unlimited, along with her summer interns Jacob and Caleb, conducted two shocking sessions on the Coldwater River at Baker Road on August 17, 2021. Also aiding in the shocking sessions were SWMTU chapter board members Ron Barch, Dave Helder, and Larry Risbridger.
The morning session shocked a 1,000-foot section of the Coldwater River upstream of the Baker Avenue bridge, followed by an afternoon session covering the same stretch of river.
Fish were “tagged” (fin-clipped) and recorded by species and size. Brown trout were the primary fish that were caught, many in the 12 to 14-inch range.
After compiling the data, Kristin Thomas said, “I compared it to the historic data we have from 2010 to 2016. Seems like things have held pretty steady, though we were lacking in big fish this year. Just about all the trout were in the deeper pools downstream of the log vanes.”
| YEAR | TROUT/MILE (ESTIMATED) | LBS/ACRE (ESTIMATED) | % LEGAL (>8″) (COUNTED) | % TROUT >10″ (COUNTED) | AVERAGE SIZE (INCHES) | SIZE RANGE (INCHES) | % PRESUMED WILD TROUT (<6″) |
| 2010* | 290 | 24 | 78 | 50 | 9.6 | 3-20 | 15 |
| 2011 | 1096 | 22 | 20 | 13 | 5.1 | 2-13 | 61 |
| 2012** | |||||||
| 2013 | 1989 | 79 | 48 | 21 | 7.7 | 3-15 | 6 |
| 2014 | 1523 | 35 | 23 | 10 | 5.6 | 2-14 | 26 |
| 2015 | 866 | 24 | 13 | 1 | 6.2 | 2-18 | 26 |
| 2016*** | 1031 | 62 | 25 | 13 | 6.8 | 3-18 | 30 |
| 2021 | 1,176 | 20 | 50 | 20 | 6.7 | 2-12 | 32 |
*SURVEY CONDUCTED PRIOR TO STREAM HABITAT IMPROVEMENT
**NO SAMPLE DUE TO HOT SUMMER
*** SURVEY COMPLETED IN SEPTEBMER RATHTER THAN JULY
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