Fish study to begin this week

A creel survey of the Pipestone/Burditt/Despair chain of lakes will begin this Saturday, the Ministry of Natural Resources reported.
The open water roving creel will cover 10 lakes and last until the end of September. Lake trout on Pipestone Lake will be the focus this spring until the walleye season opens.
The creel will include 66 flights over the chain of lakes to count fishing effort. It will cover three seasons (spring, summer, and fall), two day types (weekday and weekend), three sectors (Pipestone, Burditt, and Despair/Jackfish), and three times of day (morning, afternoon, and evening).
MNR biologist John Van den Broeck believes the creel survey will answer many scientific questions about the fishery.
“We’ll get a better sense of anglers groups,” he told delegates gathered at the North Western Ontario Tourism Association’s annual spring meeting last week in Emo.
He explained there will be three data points for each variable, making it a very comprehensive but complicated creel.
There also will be on-water surveys conducted to look at species targeted, angling success, characteristics of the fish caught (length, weight, and age), and characteristics of the anglers (resident or non-resident).
He said at the end of the day, the characteristics of the harvest can be used to determine the health of the fishery.
“This particular study area has a lot of fisheries variables in a small geographic area,” he said of the three sectors of the creel.
Van den Broeck added the north end of the area, generally Pipestone Lake, will focus on tourism-based fishing and lake trout. The central area (Burditt Lake) has moderate tourism activity and cottage activity for a variety of species—mainly walleye.
And the southern area, consisting of the Despair/Jackfish Lake chain, will show moderate production of walleye with residential and tourism use.
“We’re able, in one approach, get a cross-section of the entire fishery,” he said.
The other lakes in the survey include Shistose, Slender, Quill, Manomin, Weld, and Footprint.
Van den Broeck assured the planned construction of a new dam on Footprint Lake would not interfere with the survey nor affect the fishery.