Jessica Mathews / news@wshmi.com


The fall fishing season for splake is coming soon and the DNR is asking anglers taking part in the sport on Lake Superior to report them.

The MDNR says splake fishing in the fall on Lake Superior is an experience unmatched anywhere else in the state. As temperatures drop and leaves begin to change, the splake bite picks up as the fish move nearshore.

Splake — a hybrid cross between lake trout and brook trout — have been stocked in Lake Superior most years since 1971, with annual stocking since 1990.

Marked splake have been stocked in Lake Superior since 2021 as part of an evaluation study.

At the Marquette State Fish Hatchery, staff from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Lake Superior and Northern Lake Michigan management units, as well as staff from the Tribal Coordination Unit, put in long hours carefully marking the splake by hand. Splake are given a unique mark by clipping (and removing) part of either one or two fins. The fish are anesthetized during this process.

These fish are then stocked in the spring at three Lake Superior ports: Copper Harbor, Keweenaw Bay and Munising Bay.

The goal is to create nearshore fishing opportunities in the smaller bays of Lake Superior, where some fisheries are available year-round.

The evaluation study will be conducted through 2030. It is designed to help fisheries managers understand the percentage of stocked fish caught by anglers, the home range of splake, and metrics such as harvest rates and size at harvest by year and location.

DNR fisheries biologist for the Lake Superior Management Unit Cory Kovacs said “Early reporting from anglers has shown that splake remain relatively close to their stocking location and provide a fishery nearshore that is easily accessible with small boats or shore casting during open water periods on Lake Superior. Splake are also readily available through the ice during winter fishing months.

When it comes to identifying splake, the DNR says because they're genetically tied to both lake trout and brook trout, splake look like either of the parent species - making them difficult to distinguish. Fisheries managers have also learned that identifying the correct fin clip on splake can be difficult to do while fishing, which poses a challenge for collecting data for the evaluation study.

Those who catch a splake are advised to inspect it for missing fins or a clipped jawbone, indicating that the fish has been “marked.” Some clipped fins can be misshapen or missing, or appear abnormal. When looking for clipped fins on a fish, particular attention should be paid to the right and left pectoral fins, the right and left ventral (pelvic) fins, and the adipose fin — the small, fleshy fin found to the rear of the dorsal fin but in front of the caudal (tail) fin and found on only a few fish, including trout, salmon and catfish.

Anglers can report marked fish through the DNR’s Eyes in the Field app to provide information such as species, length, weight, sex, and date and location caught, or by contacting a local DNR fisheries office.

Those links are provided.