Researchers fish with electricity to find walleye over Frankenmuth rock ramp

FRANKENMUTH, MI -- Fisheries experts have confirmed most fish can pass the Frankenmuth rock ramp, but there's still one catch they're hoping to find.

"The needle in the haystack for us is a walleye with a tag on it," said Justin Chiotti, a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Since 2016, federal and state wildlife services have tagged around 2,500 fish downstream of the Frankenmuth rock ramp in hopes of finding them later upstream, Chiotti said.

"We're trying to see if the upstream fish community mimics the downstream community," he said.

The Frankenmuth rock ramp was constructed in 2015 as a way for fish to pass over the dam behind the Lager Mill, 701 Mill. It cost $3.5 million.

It was seen as good compromise between the economic and ecological, Chiotti said. Fish gain the ability to live and spawn upstream, and that portion of the river maintains its character.

Since the fish movement study began, anglers and wildlife workers have found 13 of the tagged fish -- one smallmouth bass and 12 suckers of different varieties. But the big one fisherman are asking about: the walleye.

The reason Chiotti says it's a needle in a haystack is because those tagged walleye could be anywhere within 25 miles upstream of the rock ramp, if they passed it.

Non-tagged walleye have been found upstream. The question is whether they swam up the ramp or came downriver from a breach in Caro impoundment, Chiotti said.

Chiotti and his crew were out Friday, April 20, on the Cass River, stunning fish with electric currents and scooping them up nets in hopes of finding tagged ones. It's called electrofishing. If done correctly, it results in minimal stress and no harm to the fish, Chiotti said.

As part of the tag study, they conduct the electrofishing about once a week each spring. Although the study ends this year, anglers will remain invaluable.

Those who catch fish with a tag on the dorsal fin are asked to call the phone number located on the tag. By reporting the catch, fisheries researchers can better understand the movement of fish throughout the Saginaw Bay watershed.

In return, the anglers will get a letter thanking them and stating where and when the fish was tagged.

In addition to confirming the fish can make it over the ramp, Chiotti and his crew are also trying to use the tagged fish to get an average on the water flow rates best suited for fish movement over the ramp.

Whether or not Chiotti and other fisheries specialists can confirm walleye have made it over the ramp, one thing is certain: the rock ramp is a boon to anglers.

Fred Colosky, owner of Fred's Bait and Tackle on 4591 W. Saginaw Road just east of Vassar, said since the rock ramp was installed, he and other fisherman have noticed a greater variety of fish in the Cass River.

"It's doing its job," Colosky said. "There's been a lot more activity up here and a lot more fish caught, so I know it's working."

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