Lower-than-average salmon numbers, rising water levels in the Great Lakes, shoreline erosion, and months of high winds don’t sound like the recipe for a great fishing season — especially not in a global pandemic. But several Leelanau charter fishing businesses are reporting big numbers for the summer of 2020, both in total customers and fish caught. The Leelanau Ticker takes a closer look at what’s going right, what’s been tough, and what the outlook is going forward.

Scott McDaid, who captains a charter vessel as Reel Tales Fishing Charters out of Glen Arbor, says business was up in 2020 compared to previous years.

“Because charter fishing is an outdoor, small-group activity, it definitely was a very, very busy summer,” McDaid reflects. “[Fishing] is one activity that people were doing and could do. I didn’t have any idea what to expect going into the season, but it turned out to be a very good season, business-wise. So that was definitely a nice surprise.”

McDaid’s charters, which focus on Lake Michigan rather than inland lakes or rivers, saw strong lake trout numbers starting early and lasting “a pretty good chunk of the summer.” He says that salmon fishing numbers have been comparatively low — and likely will continue to be low for the duration of the fall and over the next couple of years. That’s at least partially by design: A good percentage of the salmon population in Lake Michigan is planted there by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Several years ago, concerned about dwindling populations of alewives – the baitfish that serve as a primary food source for salmon in the Great Lakes – the DNR cut back its chinook salmon stocking program in Lake Michigan. Alewife numbers had been declining for decades and had hit record low numbers in the early-to-mid-2010s. The thought was that, by lowering salmon stocking numbers, the DNR could provide an opportunity for the alewife population to bounce back.

“The DNR cut back our salmon plants four years ago, and we’re definitely feeling the effects of that now,” McDaid explains. “And since that was done four years ago, that whole class of fish that would be going up the rivers this fall [to spawn], that number is way down. This is the first year that fourth-year fish [from that reduced year] should be hitting the rivers. So the salmon numbers are definitely down and the baitfish numbers are high now, so we could use more salmon put back in the lake.”

Recent DNR fishing reports for northwest lower Michigan reflect the salmon shortage as well, repeatedly mentioning slow salmon action in local bodies of water. Many local rivers will typically see salmon runs starting in August, but the DNR has reported that salmon numbers have so far been low in big salmon rivers like Betsie River and Manistee River. And while the DNR notes that some salmon have been caught locally — like near Leland or in Lake Leelanau — numbers have been low and the fish themselves smaller than usual.

Bill Winowiecki, president of the Lake Michigan Citizen’s Advisory Board to the DNR and vice president of the Michigan Charter Boat Association, says the DNR has slowly been increasing Lake Michigan salmon stocking numbers in the years since the initial cut. His business, the Glen Arbor-based Watta Bite Charter Fishing, relied on strong lake trout numbers – and good trout fish sizes – this year to make up for the smaller quantity of mature salmon. He expects that future years will see incremental improvements on that front, reflecting the DNR’s slight annual increases in salmon planting.

Winowiecki tells the Leelanau Ticker that a key factor leading to additional salmon stocking next year has to do with another Great Lakes sport fish altogether. He explains that COVID-19 stay-at-home orders forced the DNR to cancel its annual steelhead egg collection efforts for 2020. Those efforts center on the Little Manistee River and are paramount for the state’s ability to stock steelhead trout in Michigan waters. With no egg intake this year, Winowiecki says charter fishing enterprises are seeing fewer steelhead. This has in turn impacted predator-prey ratios throughout Lake Michigan: the baitfish populations have thrived because there were both fewer steelhead and fewer salmon than normal. Now, based on recent meetings with the committees on which he sits, Winowiecki reports that the DNR is considering stocking 225,000 more chinook salmon in Lake Michigan waters next year than had initially been planned, to make up for the missed year of steelhead intake.

Despite the disappointing salmon haul and other challenges, Winowiecki considers the season a strong one overall.

“I’d say business is similar to the past seasons,” he says. “We took a hit in the beginning, with a slow start in early June, but we made it up later. It got a little tougher in August when the wind started blowing 30-40 miles per hour and stirred up the water. We were still catching fish, it just made our job a little harder.”

One thing that isn’t negatively impacting fishing this year? High water levels on Lake Michigan. Both McDaid and Winowiecki theorize that increased erosion and runoff might be contributing to the recovery of the Lake Michigan alewife population – which could in turn pave the way for even stronger fish-catching seasons in the future.

“Depending on where we’re fishing, we’ll see a lot of erosion along the shoreline,” McDaid says. “But from a fishing standpoint, we don’t think we’re really feeling the effects of high water levels. If anything, it probably helps the plankton levels in the water, because there are more nutrients getting put into the water from runoff. So it’s probably helping plankton numbers, which is probably the reason why our baitfish numbers are doing better, too.”