A copy of the draft plan is available online to review here.

A year ago, the DNRE’s Fisheries Division presented a proposal to the public for modifying regulations governing fishing for trout on Michigan’s streams. After extensive public solicitation for response to the proposals, a decision was made in the fall of 2009 to move forward only with combining existing Type 5, 6, and 7 streams into a new Gear Restricted Waters category.
In January 2010, the DNRE again solicited public comment on what streams might be proposed for inclusion in the Gear Restricted Waters category. Subsequent to that comment period, a draft proposal has been developed with the help of the Fisheries Division’s Coldwater Committee. The draft proposal is now ready for public review, and the public is invited to learn about the draft proposal and provide comment through a set of public meetings around Michigan.

After reviewing the comments gathered during the public review meetings, recommendations will be incorporated into Fisheries Order 200. The order will then be presented for information at the September meeting of the Natural Resources Commission. Any changes to Fisheries Order 200 that are approved by the DNRE Director in the fall of 2010 will take effect on April 1, 2011.

The schedule of public meetings is:

Southern Lake Huron Management Unit:
7 p.m. Tuesday, June 8, at the Bay City State Recreation Area Visitors Center, 3585 State Park Dr., Bay City

Northern Lake Huron Management Unit:
7 p.m. Tuesday, June 8, at the Crawford Au Sable Primary School Cafeteria, 306 Plum St., Grayling

7 p.m. Wednesday, June 9, at the Mio Community Center, 305 East 9th Street, Mio

7 p.m. Thursday, June 10, at the Northland Sportsmans Club, Old Alba Road, Gaylord

Eastern Lake Superior Management Unit:
7 p.m. Wednesday, June 10 at the Newberry Public Library , 700 Newberry Ave., Newberry

Western Lake Superior Management Unit:
7 p.m. (Eastern) Tuesday, June 22, at the Negaunee Township Hall, 42 M-35, Negaunee

6 p.m. (Central) Thursday, June 24, at Gogebic Community College, E4946 Jackson St., Ironwood.

Lake Erie Management Unit:
7 p.m. Wednesday, June 23, at the Rochester City Hall Auditorium, 1000 Rochester Hills Dr., Rochester Hills

Northern Lake Michigan Management Unit:
6 p.m. Wednesday, June 16, at the Dickinson County Library, 401 Iron Mountain St., Iron Mountain.

6 p.m. Tuesday, June 22, at the Escanaba DNRE Pocket Park, 2401 12th Ave. North, Escanaba

Central Lake Michigan Management Unit:
7 p.m. Monday, June 7, at the Bitely Conservation Club, 12016 Woodbridge (M-37) in Bitely.

7 p.m. Tuesday, June 8, at the Crawford Au Sable Primary School Cafeteria, 306 Plum St., Grayling.

7 p.m.Thursday, June 10, at the Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center, 6093 E. M-115, Cadillac

Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit:
7 p.m. Wednesday, June 9, at the Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery Interpretive Center, 34270 CR 652, Mattawan

7 p.m. Thursday, June 24, at the Maud Preston Memorial Library, 500 Market St., St. Joseph.

Please RSVP by June 12, 2010.  Contact Larry Risbridger at either elrisbridger@charter.net or by phone at 616.890.8327 (cell) or 616.891.0148 (home).  Please give your name, which nights we can expect you and your phone number/email address.  If you have any questions, please give Larry a call. Space is limited, so make your reservation early.

Arrival is any time after noon on Thursday, June 17 with departure on Sunday, June 20. You may come for one, two or all three nights. This year’s nightly rate remains the same as last year at $150.00 for three nights, $100.00 for two nights and $50.00 for one night.

Accommodations

Past participants will tell you this is a great time. The lodge is an historical log building with a great porch along the front looking out over the river.

Sleeping arrangements are dorm style, so bring your own bedding or sleeping bag and towels.

Food

We will be providing cold breakfast foods for Friday and Sunday morning. Our only organized meal will be a large hot breakfast for all on Saturday morning. We will have other snacks and lunch items available. Please bring your own beverages.

The Fishing
Mid June is traditionally a super time to meet some of the best hatches of the season: yellow and olive stones, drakes and caddis flies. There’s a good change at big trout rising to a hex hatch at dark.

Fishing opportunities aren’t limited to trout; Wakeley Lake offers anglers fine bass and bluegill fishing. The location is a great jumping off place beyond the Au Sable mainstream. The north and south branches, and the Manistee, are minutes away.

Canoes are available if you want to explore any area streams or lakes. If you’re unfamiliar with Grayling-area fishing opportunities, we’ll be happy to point you in a good direction or let you tag along.

More information on Wa Wa Sum (courtesy of MSU)

Wa Wa Sum is a Michigan State University research and conference facility located on the Au Sable River six miles east of Grayling.

The name Wa Wa Sum means “Plain View” in the Ojibwa language and was given to the camp in 1905 by Chief David Shoppenagon, an Au Sable guide and woodsman. At that time, because of the extensive logging of the region’s pine forests, the view from the high bank on which the camp is built was unobstructed for miles to the south. Since then, the forests have regenerated, slowly obscuring the view beyond the river.

Chief Shoppenagon built the first building at the camp, now known as the Dining Room, in 1880. In 1897, Rubin Babbit, an Au Sable woodsman who later becam Michigan’s first wildlife officer, built a second structure, now the Administration Building. These first buildings were constructed of red pine and tamarack logs and used as a fishing camp for a group of Toledo businessmen. Other cabins of various sizes were added in later years: the Bullpen (1907); the Big Camp (1921/22); the Barn and the Guide’s Cabin (early 1930s).

The buildings and 251 acres of land were deeded to MSU in 1980 by owners Virginia Secor Stranahan and Frank Bell, descendants of two of the camp’s six original owners. Kevin Gardiner, a descendant of Rubin Babbit, is the camp’s present caretaker. He is the third generation of his family to perform these duties.

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