Fish Bites: February 2018

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Young boy holding up bluegill caught while ice fishing

Fish Bites

February 2018
Welcome to the 13th 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!


illustration of black crappie

Name that Fish!

Can you name this Michigan fish species? Scroll to the bottom to find out!
Illustration by Joseph R. Tomelleri ©


Free Fishing Weekend

In the Current:  

Four Fun Fishy Facts: 

  1. Lake Erie is the warmest of all the Great Lakes, but also freezes over more than the other lakes. It does this because it is so shallow! 
  2. Cisco (also known as lake herring) deposit their eggs on the bottom of the lake where they develop slowly in the cold winter temperatures. The eggs typically hatch after the breakup of spring surface ice.
  3. Michigan’s Winter Free Fishing Weekend has been celebrated each year since 1994. It followed the Summer Free Fishing Weekend celebration which started in 1986. 
  4. The first recorded accounts of spearfishing through the ice are from Michigan.  

Fish in your classroom!

Do you love fish and wish you could learn more about them in school? You can!

Bring this in to show your teacher that we have great opportunities for them!.

We have an activity kit all about aquatic invasive species that is free to teachers. This includes 5 great activities, and all the posters and brochures needed to supplement their curriculum. Teachers can email paget3@michigan.gov to request a kit.   

Or – get Salmon in your Classroom (SIC)! Our SIC program places salmon eggs in more than 250 classrooms throughout Michigan. Students and their teachers raise the salmon until they release them into a stream in the spring. The SIC program is complete with a one-day professional development and a manual with success tips, tools and curriculum. The application period is open Jan. 1 – April 15; so tell your teacher to apply today! www.michigan.gov/sic 


youth playing inside ice fishing game

Fun Fish Activities

Ice Fish at Home
Ever wanted to try out ice fishing? Make this fun game that you can use at home.

Materials:

  • 1 large cardboard box
  • Light blue paint
  • White paint
  • An adult's help with scissors/utility knife 
  • A magnetic fishing pole/fish set

Instructions:

  1. Close up the box and flip so a solid side is up.  
  2. Cut a circular hole in the center of the top.  
  3. Paint the top white.  
  4. Paint the sides light blue.  
  5. Let it dry.   
  6. Put your magnetic fish inside the box. 
  7. Fish!

Black Crappie fish laying on the ice with fishing pole handle.

Name that fish!

Black crappie are more often found in clear water lakes, usually in and around weed beds. These fish are known by a handful of nicknames, especially calico bass.

Anglers generally fish for crappie with live minnows or jigs, either casting or still-fishing under a bobber, though fly fishermen often take them on streamers. They have large mouths, capable of taking sizable minnows, so use a larger hook than you would for bluegills or sunfish. Black crappie are schooling fish so when you've found one, you've generally found a bunch.

Through the ice, crappie are often taken by anglers who are targeting bluegills with small tear drops and insect larva for bait, though they readily take minnows, too. Often the best fishing is the first and last hours of the day, though they will bite through the night, too. They are widespread across Michigan in rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Some of the state's better-known crappie lakes include Houghton, Mitchell, Cadillac, and the reservoirs on the Tittabawassee and Huron Rivers, though they can be found in numerous small lakes throughout southern Michigan.

For more information on black crappie, check out their page on the DNR’s Michigan Fish & How to Catch Them website