Welcome to the fourth edition of Fish Bites! This e-newsletter is made specifically for students, parents and teachers. Expect to receive Fish Bites about four times each year and have your friends sign-up too!
June 13-14 Free Fishing Weekend – many statewide events and no fishing license needed for these two days!
Learn to fish with DNR: Hook, Line and Sinker! Find the closest location to you by visiting this web page and then look under the title of Seasonal Information.
Visit one of DNR’s Fish Production Systems (Hatcheries). Check it out to discover information on each hatchery, where to go, and what hours and days they are open!
Four Fun Fishy Facts
Beware of Alien Invaders! Invasive species to keep out of Michigan include:
Bighead Carp – one of the species of Asian carp – can weigh up to 90 pounds and be nearly 5 feet long! (How much do YOU weigh?) They can consume up to 36 pounds of food a day which is food that was supposed to feed our good native fish.
Red Swamp Crayfish can quickly dominate and push out our native crayfish species in any waters it invades, and it is virtually impossible to get rid of! They are the bad neighborhood bully of crayfish.
Snakehead, just like their name says, has a head that look like a snake! They are from China and unlike most fish, can breathe out of water from 3 to 7 days with the ability to “walk” with their pectoral fins from one body of water to another! They have sharp teeth too – YIKES!
Killer Shrimp aren’t “killer” because they are awesome or great in any way at all. They are aggressive predators that kill many desirable species that feed our native fish – not nice!
Fun and Fish Games
Check out these Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) games!
Silver carp are one of the four species of Asian carp that threaten Michigan waters. These invasive species threaten our native fish by eating the food supply that they depend on as well as crowding them out of their habitat. This will greatly reduce the chance of you catching your favorite game fish.
Silver, Bighead, Grass and Black carp are all fast growing, reproduce rapidly, have huge appetites and eat plankton which our native fish depend upon for food. They are all invasive species.
Silver carp can weigh up to 60 pounds and exceed 3 feet in length. They are light silver in color with a white belly. The eyes of a silver carp sit below their mouth which is very different than our native fish.
If you see an Asian carp please report it – and if you catch one, don’t throw it back and contact the DNR right away by visiting www.michigan.gov/asiancarp
