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Hope this link works. We may not even get our reduced stocking of kings since the fall run in Mich is a record low.
upnorthlive.com/news/local/chinook-egg-t...w-on-little-manistee

Wow!! That stinks. Thanks for the read Mike.

Here's the latest statitistics from the little manistee weir...per an article in yesterdays ludington newspaper

Little Manistee numbers down 85 percent from last year



On Oct. 7, 2014, Michigan Department of Natural Resources workers at the Little Manistee Weir had passed about 2,800 salmon upstream. The returns were a record low, down from a previous low of about 5,100 in 2008.

On Oct. 7 of this year, the number was 386 Chinooks. The number represents a 85 percent drop from the record low.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Technician Mark Tonello said there may still be more fish to pass. The bulk of the run has usually passed by this time, but water temperatures on the Great Lakes are still above normal for this time of year.

DNR Fisheries Biologist Scott Heintzelman said the important thing to remember is that they are not done running the weir, so the possibility of a good, late run still exists.

Some decreases were expected. The DNR, out of fears that there weren’t enough alewives to support the number of salmon in Lake Michigan, made drastic stocking cuts starting in the last decade. At the time, natural reproduction was thought to be matching or exceeding the number of stocked fish in the lake, alewife numbers were plummeting and the moves weremade to cut off a Lake Huron-like collapse of the fishery.

Called the Little Manistee Weir hotline this morning. The recording said they finished harvesting this past Thursday. The grates are pulled and the holding ponds are drained. They had a season total of 654 chinook this year. An absolute nightmare of a run. The message indicated they were able to get their quota filled by using the swan creek weir over on the huron side. Glad Wisconsin came through for us.

Geeze if what I saw on the Manistee this year was a record low, you could probably walk on salmon across the river when it was normal! I have never seen so many huge fish in one stretch of river at the same time!

Makes you wonder what the Michigander DNR knows that our DNR doesn't know about salmon stocking and keeping them coming back to their rivers. I guess there is hope for the fishery if Wisc. and Illinois have a decent return on their rivers. Looks like Indiana did not do well from all that I am reading on the subject. Still I have hope that in 2 years we will see a rebound.

Horsefly, you must've hit the mother lode of a gravel stretch on the Manistee. It's very common knowledge that this year was by far the worst year on record for salmon returns all over the State of Michigan, and Indiana. The other weir on the boardman river in traverse city also experienced it's lowest total ever. Yes, in some years you could "walk" across their backs. I was up visiting the manistee area I believe the same time you were there, I was at tippy, high bridge, rainbow bend, and bear creek accesses and it was slow everywhere. You could even find plenty of places to fish at the dam....unheard of.

I was not disputing the record low numbers being reported, but I was still amazed at how stacked the kings were below Tippy Dam. I wouldn't say it is "very common knowledge" though unless you commonly fish Michigan rivers or read Michigan DNR news.

If they don't figure out away to get rid of the mussels I don't think the salmon fishing is long or on the rebound for the lake very sad and the worst thing is the EPA had to get court ordered in 2013 to start Having ships sterlizej the ballast tanks before coming in from the ocean. Makes you kind of wonder

If kings go down I honestly believe atlantics could be the next main event. Ive been doing a lot of research on them the past couple days and they seem to be adapted well to lake huron. This yr in lake huron a total of 260 k ish will be stocked and each yr they have increased it. One article i read said they have 5 times better return rate to rivers and creel than any other pacific salmon species which is steelhead. ( can't find the article again). They also get big and can spawn multiple times. Many anglers said they are like fighting a steelhead on steroids, jumps like one but can make reel screaming runs like a king.

I'll be out there fishing anyways but I wouldnt complain with them.