LANSING, MI – The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is on the hunt for marked splake.
The fish, a hybrid cross between lake trout and brook trout, have been stocked in Lake Superior most years since 1971, with annual stocking since 1990. The agency needs anglers to report sightings as part of a study of the Lake Superior splake fishery which began last week.
In Lake Superior, the DNR stocks splake in Munising, Copper Harbor and occasionally in Keweenaw Bay to create fishing opportunities in the Great Lake’s smaller bays where some fisheries are available year-round.
According to the DNR, the study will help fisheries managers understand the percentage of stocked fish caught by anglers, home range of splake, and harvest metrics such as harvest rates and size at harvest by year and location.
Anyone who catches a splake should inspect it for missing fins or a jaw-bone clip, which indicate it has been marked. Marked fish then can be reported at Michigan.gov/EyesintheField.
Marked splake also can be reported to DNR staff stationed at various ports along the Lake Superior shoreline.
Due to their hybrid cross between lake trout and brook trout, splake can take the external appearance of the parent species, making them difficult to distinguish. Staff can help to correctly identify the fish and record angler trip data.
The DNR will be marking splake through 2025, with the evaluation study being conducted through 2030. Anglers are reminded that other natural resources agencies and tribal units mark a variety of fish species for different evaluation purposes.