Fish Finders
They are often called "coaster" brook trout – those beautifully colored trout that have adopted Lake Superior as their permanent home. They share the same DNA as their relatives who choose to stay in their river homes, but coaster brookies can grow to 24 inches in the Big Lake environment while their cousins reach about 8-10 inches. That is thanks to bigger prey in a bigger water, experts say.
The exciting fish news coming out of the Minnesota DNR is discovery last fall of coasters spawning along the Minnesota shore. The only other such "shoal-spawning" population of coasters is at Isle Royale, which retained its native coasters despite its declines elsewhere around the Lake.
Why is that significant? Cory Goldsworthy, the Lake Superior fisheries supervisor for the Minnesota DNR is happy to tell us. For one thing, it could mean proof of successful reintroduction of the species after 40 years of stocking and conservation.
"These are either stocked fish or the progeny of stock fish," Cory says. Either way, it shows that the coasters are reproducing in the Lake – a colder, more steady environment than rivers, which might freeze fully in winter and reach 80° F temps in summer, stressing the brook trout population. "River conditions are tough," Cory says. "Maybe we will start to see more shore-spawning populations."
Coaster brook trout are native to Lake Superior. Cory mentions newspaper articles from the 1850s reporting on anglers catching "hundreds" of brook trout at the mouth of the Knife River. Over fishing, habitat disruption from logging and other land-based activities that caused fires and loss of cold-water ponds and the invasion of sea lamprey predators decimated the coaster and other trout populations for awhile in the Lake. Over the course of four decades, the state DNRs and tribal entities like the Red Cliff Band's fish hatchery have been stocking, using coaster brook trout from Isle Royale.
"This is the first known occurrence in Minnesota waters and possibly anywhere beyond Isle Royale, an isolated island located 15 miles offshore from Minnesota," the Great Lakes Fishery Commission posted on Facebook celebrating the announcement. "Coaster brook trout are known to grow over 24 inches, but size isn’t what defines them. Just look at the 10-inch beauty in this photo (referring to the DNR photos here)—a true coaster brook trout! Next steps? The DNR will analyze the genetics of these shore spawners to uncover whether they are a Minnesota native strain, descendants of stocked Isle Royale fish, migrants from elsewhere in Lake Superior, or perhaps a mix of all three! Since 1997, dedicated efforts have been underway to restore Coaster Brook Trout populations, making this discovery a significant milestone in conservation efforts!"
The fishery commission last fall also declared lake trout as fully restored within Lake Superior, notes Brad Ray, the Lake Superior team supervisor for the Wisconsin DNR.
This blossoming of coasters, steelhead and lake trout will affect one current resident – the chinook salmon, introduced into Lake Superior since the late 1800s into the 1990s as a substitute game fish when trout populations collapsed. Cory foresees a drop in salmon populations. "There’s just always going to be a loser in Lake Superior," he notes because of the limited food resources. We’ve hit a peak lake trout abundance so there is downward pressure on food resources. There's not a lot of food out there for non-native salmon. … We would much rather see our native species doing well."
Meanwhile … while we had Cory for conversation, we asked about one of our favorite "fun facts" about siscowet - the fatty lake trout that live in the depths by Isle Royale, sometimes hanging out down to 600-1,000 feet, though not adverse to surfacing to feed. Do siscowet, which can reach 40 pounds, feed on songbirds that have not made it during cross Lake migrations in spring and fall? Cory says that would not surprise him. In studying stomach contents of lake trout, "We found snakes, we found a turtle, we’ve found bratwurst – they will eat anything they find in the water." And Cory added a fun fact of his own. It's believed that a siscowet found in Michigan waters was determined to be 65 years old. Michigan Sea Grant's Ron Kinnunen has a great story on "Siscowet lake trout: Everything you need to know," which you can find here.
Mining a Treasure in a Winter Hike-in Adventure
Daniel Wanschura, the host and executive producer of Points North podcast for Interlochen Public Radio, dropped an episode last Friday describing his February three-day, hike-in cabin stay in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park on a mission to review visitor journal logs dating back to the 1950s.
"It was a cold, three-mile hike to my cabin. I walked steadily through the snow with one pack on my back, one in front. I will not pretend that I did not huff and puff," Daniel says. "There are 23 rustic cabins and yurts in the park, and for the past 70 years, visitors have drawn or written in these log books, pouring their hearts out, making jokes, telling stories, boring future readers with the weather.
Now hundreds of these journals sit at park headquarters waiting to be mined. On this episode of Points North, I am the miner."
Daniel describes his journey through the journals while at Crosscut Cabin as well as his treks outside. Hear the full episode "Some Things Never Change" … along with those entries that caught Daniel's eye … by listening to the podcast here.
An En-Light-ening Event
Canadian Lighthouses of Lake Superior plans its annual fundraising dinner "Light the Night for Shaganash" Apr. 26 at the Current River Community Centre in Thunder Bay. Doors open at 5 p.m. and there will be dinner, a presentation about Shaganash Lighthouse (in photo) being designated a heritage light and art auctions, door prizes and live music by Loughlin. Among the door prizes is a Trowbridge Lighthouse Tour with Archie's Charters.
The other presentation for the evening will be historian Clive Dudley about the James Whalen tug, which served as an icebreaker for the harbour, provided transportation of lighthouse keepers to their stations and was later returned to the city by Clive from Lachine, Quebec. He led the project to have it restored at the Kaministiquia River Heritage Park, where it served as a free public attraction and a centrepiece for the Riverfest celebration for many years, but in 2022 was found sunken in the river. The Thunder Bay City Council plans to have the tug scrapped, and the Transportation Museum of Thunder Bay is trying to ensure parts of it can be salvaged to share with the public. You can hear an interview about the tug with Clive on CBC radio here.
Everyone welcome – from both sides of the boatnerd border – and you can register for tickets here.
A Weeklong Dive into History – Local & International Twin Ports Festival of History offers a weeklong smogasbord of presentations to satisfy history buffs of all ages. The fest got off to a rough start, having to cancel Wednesday's opening events because of weather, but it continues strong tonight through next Wednesday. Topics range from Anishinaabe Resistance to Racialization in the 1910s by Jill Doerfler, professor and head of the Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota Duluth (4 p.m. today) to Rivers of Lake Superior's North Shore: An Ojibwe Perspective by Erik Redix, Grand Portage Ojibwe language coordinator (6 p.m. today) to talks about comics, past present, by artists Carl Gawboy and Chris Monroe (starting 6 p.m. Friday) to the Great Lakes fleets and their owners with Scott Bjorklund, assistant director of the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center (2 p.m. Saturday) and the history of horror with Kelly Florence, co-author of seven books in The Science of Horror series (5 p.m. Saturday). The festival ends Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. with History in a Pint, hosted by Lake County Historical Society and Superior National Forest at the Tipsy Mosquito in Two Harbors. Glensheen offers free classic tours on Tuesday. The schedule is too full and all around Duluth, Superior and Two Harbors to list. Find the full details here.
Make Plans: Here are a few events coming up soon to put on a fun-do list. Make sure to double check for any last-minute weather-related postponements or cancellations.
Michigan
Friday, Apr. 4: Join in the Old Time Copper Country Dance with live music by Oren Takkanen and the Back Room Boys at the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock. Starts at 6:30 p.m. Children under 14 are free.
Saturday, Apr. 5: Celebrate Michigan Maple Weekend in the U.P. by stopping at Michigan Maple Farms and Besteman Maple Products, both in Rudyard. Treats and tours from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Friday-Sunday, Apr. 4-6: Dream of summer recreation at the UP Boat, Sport, and RV Show at the Northern Michigan University Superior Dome in Marquette. See bikes to boats and more.
Minnesota
Today-Sunday, Apr. 3-6: The 57th annual Arrowhead Home & Builders Show at the DECC in Duluth features special events, like a raptor show and Parakeet Landing, plus gear and vendors. Animal Allies will have puppies to adopt.
Friday-Sunday, Apr. 4-6: The Mountain Meltdown Festival at Lutsen Mountains features spring skiing paired with great live music, day and night. Read about the performers online.
Friday, Apr. 4: Local adventure Lonnie Dupre presents "Greenland: Where Ice is Born" at the North House Folk School, 6:30 p.m. This is part of the school's First Friday Series and Lonnie will talk about his visits to Greenland.
Friday, Apr. 4: Hayes Scriven, photographer and keeper of the Split Rock Lighthouse, is featured in his first-ever photography show with an opening reception 7-8:30 p.m. in the Tettegouche State Park Visitor Center.
Saturday, Apr. 5: Beyond the Reel, a film fundraiser for the Violence Prevention Center and presentation of the Joan Drury Award starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts in Grand Marais.
Saturday, Apr. 5: Beyond the Barn at Miller Hill Mall in Duluth hosts its 18th annual Northland Horse Fair, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., with free seminars, a used tack swap, door prizes and vendors.
Wisconsin
Friday, Apr. 4: Enjoy dinner and show at the Big Top Chautauqua's Backstage in Bayfield. Kevin Kling, a playwright, actor, author, storyteller and a Minnesota state treasure, joins Jan Lee, actor, writer, director, musician, and a longtime member of the Blue Canvas Orchestra troupe, for an evening of fun. Starts at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Apr. 5: Cultural Night: Celebrating 25 Years of Cultural Brilliance is hosted by the World Student Association at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Savor the international menu and entertainment.
Monday-Saturday. Apr. 7-12: Celebrate National Library Week with events at the Sherman & Ruth Weiss Community Library in Hayward.
Ontario
Friday-Sunday, Apr. 4-6: The Sault Ste. Marie Rock N' Gem Show runs all weekend at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, organized by CanGems. Browse more than 400 tables with top-quality crystals, minerals, fossils and jewelry.
Starts Saturday, Apr. 5-6, 12-13: Richards Landing Maple Syrup Festival officially gets underway this weekend, but Gilbertson's Maple Products on St. Joseph's Island has already had a brisk three weeks of business at its Pancake House. "We’ve served 5,870 guests and have made over 5,000 gallons of maple syrup so far - and we’re only half way through our season!" They posted. The season lasts for about another month.
Saturday, Apr. 5: Storytime with Mz Molly and Friendz features crafts and reading at the Waverley Resource Library in Thunder Bay, 2:30-4 p.m.
Wednesday, Apr. 9: Enjoy a fun evening with a karaoke contest, live music, raffle and prizes, meals and appetizers and more at Norteño’s Cantina in Thunder Bay … all for a good cause – to raise funds for Northern Ontario Family of Children with Cancer. Starts at 6 p.m.
Photo & graphic credits in order of appearance: Minnesota DNR; Daniel Wanschura/Points North; Canadian Lighthouses of Lake Superior; Twin Ports Festival of History; Spotlight, from left, Michigan Maple Farms/Mountain Meltdown Festival/The Backstage/Sault Ste. Marie Gem Show