Yellow perch surviving, but at much reduced levels, in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan

According to a natural resources department assessment, the yellow sea bass shows annual reproduction in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan and the survival of young fish.

The 2025 spring ovulation assessment of Lake Michigan from Milwaukee provides 159 sea bass, similar to 168 in 2024 and 214 in 2023, but only 1% of the same studies were clarified in the mid -1990s.

More importantly, the analysis of the fish caught in recent ovulation, Aaron Schiller, a DNR fishing biologist, shows that at least some of the class every year are in the last decade.

This survival of young or recruitment is critical for maintaining any animal population. Since the species launched an extraordinary decline in the 1990s after the invading mussel arrival, it was especially observed in the Lake Michigan.

DNR’s 2024 ovulation assessment fish, fish from each year from 2016 to 2021, according to an agency report (born in 2022 and then used to lay or used for the gear used to exemplify the gear) was documented.

The 2016 class has been the strongest for years and the 2021 year class has formed an important part of the 2024 capture.

The sea bass aging and other analysis, which was captured in 2025, has not yet been completed.

However, Schiller said it was optimistic with the latest results in the light of ovulation assessments in 2017 and 2018, which was caught less than 10 fish.

“Hopefully, an increase in ovulation biomass and some positive air trends will help to continue the tendency to increase the abundance of yellow sea bass in the Milwaukee region.” He said.

Based on Angler reports, the number of sea bass increased slightly in the waters other than Racine and Kenosha.

Lake Michigan suffers from the effects of aquatic invasive species, especially the quagga mussel, along with other domestic fish, such as white fish.

At least since the beginning of the 1990s, the mussel in Lake Michigan is a filter feeder who removes large amounts of planktoon from water. According to the researchers, it is found in the hard and soft substrates of the lake and 400 feet from relatively shallow.

Quagga Mussel depends on a significant decrease in indigenous zooplankton species and the change of the food network of the lake.

Jason Smith, a fishing biologist of the Chippewa Indians in Michigan, a fishing biologist of the Sault tribe of Canadian filmmakers Yvonne Drebert and Zach Melnick’s documentary, “Quagga Midye was the biggest change in the Great lakes.”

Changes meant a significant decrease in survival for less food and young sea bass for larvae fish.

As the DNR evaluations showed the recruitment problems, the agency took action in 1996 to close the commercial sea bass, to reduce the sports daily bag limit with five sea bass, and to prohibit the sea bass in the wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan.

The measures did not improve a great improvement, but probably helped the sea bass to avoid an even more serious decline.

The yellow sea bass progressed much better in the more productive waters of Green Bay. In addition to commercial fishing for the sea bass, the DNR continues to allow a higher -day bag limit for sports fishermen in the Gulf.

Creel survey data emphasizes the difference in Lake Michigan in the sea bass populations in Green Bay.

According to DNR reports, sports fishermen collected 195,856 fish in 2024, but Green Bay was arrested in 192.061 and 3,795 in Lake Michigan.

And Quagga Mussel is a shadow of sports capture before changing the food network of the lake. For example, in 1988, sports fishermen caught 869,164 sea bass in Lake Michigan, 133,328 in Lake Michigan, 213,163 in Racine and 408,438 only in Milwaukee districts.

However, there are signs of hope, including good fishing periods for the uninterrupted series of year classes and sports fishermen.

One occurred in the Port of Milwaukee at the end of December 2024. Dozens of boats benefited from unusual hot weather and there was no ice cover for the sea bass for a few days.

Schiller said it was probably concentrated in the harbor to use a source of food.

“Absolutely nice to see recruitment,” Schiller said. “And the sea bass passing through the bottleneck in the beginning of their lives, then grows quite quickly.”

For example, according to DNR data, the perch, which was captured at the age of 2021 years at the age of 2021, was 9 3/4 inches in length. Average includes both sexes – women grow faster than men – therefore some of the 3 -year -old sea bass were longer than 10 inches.

In the 2025 Salmon-A-Rama Fisheries Tournament in Lake Michigan, which was held in July, the sea bass was won by Khris Radke with an average of 14.2 inch lengths with five sea bass.

The fish entered the event by the top five financies were 13.7 inches long. All recorded in Milwaukee or Racine.

This article was initially published in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: DNR surveys show the annual recruitment of valuable fish species