middle eau claire lake - wisconsin dnr...middle eau claire is located north of hayward on hwy 27 in...

WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES CREEL SURVEY REPORT

MIDDLE EAU CLAIRE LAKE BAYFIELD COUNTY

2019-2020

Treaty Fisheries Publication

March 2020

INTRODUCTION

The Wisconsin Department of Natural

Resources regularly conducts fishery surveys

of area lakes and reservoirs to gather

information on species composition,

population size, reproductive success,

size/age distribution, and growth rates. The

information from the netting and

electrofishing surveys helps the WDNR

determine the best management practices for

that body of water. Another important aspect

of a fishery is the amount of harvest that is

occurring on the lake. This information is

collected by creel census or creel survey.

On lakes in the Ceded Territory of

Wisconsin, harvest of fish is divided

between sport anglers and the six Chippewa

tribal bands. The six Chippewa tribal bands

harvest fish under rights governed by federal

treaties of 1837 and 1842. Most tribal fish

harvest is done by spearing during a short

period of time in the spring. All speared fish

are individually counted by tribal creel

clerks, allowing for a complete “census” of

the tribal fish harvest in the spring.

Information is also collected on the effects

of sport angler harvest on fish populations.

Because it would be impractical and costly

to conduct a complete “census” of the fish

harvested by sport anglers on area lakes, a

creel survey is conducted to estimate the

amount of fish harvested by sports anglers.

A creel survey is a sampling tool used to

measure the fishing activities of the sport

anglers and to estimate the amount of fish

harvested on a body of water. Creel surveys

are designed to have a creel clerk on a lake,

work random shifts, and forty hours each

week throughout the fishing season. Each

month these shifts cover a sample of all the

daylight hours. Creel clerks travel their lakes

using a boat, snowmobile or vehicle to count

and to interview anglers.

The information collected from anglers

during the interview includes the species of

fish being targeted, catch and harvest,

lengths of harvested fish, and hours of

fishing effort. Typically, only anglers that

have completed their fishing trip are

interviewed because it provides the most

accurate information and it avoids the need

to disturb anglers while they are fishing.

You may have encountered one of the DNR

creel clerks on a recent fishing trip. The

survey only takes a moment of your time and

we appreciate your cooperation during an

interview. The information collected gives

the DNR valuable knowledge required for

management of the fishery.

The data collected during the survey is

processed by a computer program and

summarized by month to calculate estimates

of the total fishing pressure, fishing effort

directed at each species, catch and harvest

rates, and the number of fish caught and

harvested.

This creel survey report will provide you

with four types of estimated information for

this body of water:

1. Overall fishing pressure

2. Fishing effort directed at each species

3. Catch and harvest rates

4. Numbers of fish caught and harvested.

Also included in this report are physical

information about the lake, discussion of

results of this survey and detailed summaries

by species.

GENERAL LAKE INFORMATION

Location Middle Eau Claire is located north of

Hayward on Hwy 27 in Bayfield County.

Physical Characteristics Middle Eau Claire is a drainage lake in the

St. Croix River basin that covers 902 acres

and has a maximum depth of 66 feet. There

is one public boat landing located on the

south end of the lake off Hwy 27.

Seasons Surveyed An open water creel survey was conducted

from opening day of gamefish season on

May 4, 2019 and ran through the end of

October. Winter creel was conducted from

December 1st through the close of the

gamefish season on March 1, 2020.

Harvest Regulations The following seasons, daily bag limits, and

length limits were in place on this lake in

2019-2020:

Species Season

Bag

Limit

Min.

Size

Walleye 5/4-3/1 3 special*

Largemouth Bass 5/4-3/1 5 No Min

Smallmouth Bass 5/4-3/1 1 18"**

Muskellunge 5/25-11/30 1 40"

Northern Pike 5/4-3/1 5 none

Panfish all year 10 none

* No minimum length limit, but walleye from 14”-18” may

not be kept and only one over 18” is allowed. **SMB catch and release 5/4-6/14, bag in combination

with LMB from 06/15-03/1.

SPECIES CATCH AND HARVEST INFORMATION

Angling information is summarized on a

single page for each species. If a page for a

species is not present in this section, it is

because no one reported fishing for that

species and/or none were caught. Each

species page has up to five graphs covering

the following:

FIGURE 1 ESTIMATED DIRECTED

FISHING EFFORT Total calculated number of hours

during each month that anglers spent

fishing for this species.

FIGURE 2 ESTIMATED DIRECTED

ANGLER CATCH AND HARVEST RATES Calculated number of hours it takes

an angler to catch or harvest a fish of

this species. Only information from

anglers who were specifically

targeting this species is reported

here.

FIGURE 3 ESTIMATED TOTAL ANGLER

CATCH AND HARVEST Calculated number of fish of this

species caught or harvested by all

anglers. This estimate also includes

incidental catch and harvest of fish

by anglers that were not specifically

targeting this species.

FIGURE 4 LENGTH DISTRIBUTION OF

HARVESTED FISH MEASURED BY CLERK

All fish of this species measured by

the clerk during the entire creel

survey season.

FIGURE 5 AVERAGE LENGTH AND

LARGEST FISH HARVESTED Average length and the largest fish of

this species harvested each month.

Only those fish measured by the

creel clerk are reported here.

Seasonal Angler Effort Summary

The table provides a summary by month of

the total angler hours and total angler hours

per acre. Also, the table compares county

average and ceded territory average to

current survey results.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The completion of this survey was possible

because of the efforts of the following

Treaty Assessment Staff: Gene Hatzenbeler,

Todd Brecka, Misty Rood, Bill Sobaski,

Don Jacobson, Reed Miller, and Brooke

Smith. We would especially like to

recognize the efforts of our creel clerk Marty

Kangas who collected the angler interviews.

The Department would like to thank Quentin

and Helen Ruprecht. They generously

allowed the department to keep a boat and

snowmobile at their property during this

survey.

We would also like to thank all the anglers

who took the time to offer information about

their fishing trip to the survey clerk. Without

your cooperation this survey would not have

been possible.

Additional copies of this report and those

covering other local lakes can be obtained

from the Treaty Fisheries Biologist in

Spooner or WDNR Webpage.

Questions about the report can be directed to

Gene Hatzenbeler

WDNR Spooner Office

810 W. Maple Street

Spooner, WI 54801

Phone: (715)635-4164

Email: [email protected]

WALLEYE

7.0 6.1 5.110.7

1.0

12.5

26.2 26.4

34.8

25.6

4.0

81.3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

MAY JUN. JUL. AUG. SEP. OCT. DEC. JAN. FEB. MAR.

HO

UR

S P

ER

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST

FIGURE 2. ESTIMATED DIRECTED ANGLER CATCH AND HARVEST RATES

79

55

7975

3

72

104

2115

11

31

3

18

3 4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90


NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST

FIGURE 3. ESTIMATED TOTAL ANGLER CATCH AND HARVEST

1

2

1

8

2

3

6

3

0

2

4

6

8

10

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

INCHES

FIGURE 4. LENGTH DISTRIBUTION OF FISH MEASURED BY CLERK

18.9

21.1

18.317.5

21.1

15.4

20.6

19.2

22.7 22.5

18.5

21.0 21.1

18.3

20.7

19.6

15

20

25

30


INC

HE

S

MONTH

AVERAGE LARGEST

FIGURE 5. AVERAGE LENGTH AND LARGEST FISH HARVESTED

549

317

400

804

29

157

71109

38 31

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900


AN

GL

ING

HO

UR

S

MONTH

FIGURE 1. ESTIMATED DIRECTED FISHING EFFORT

NORTHERN PIKE

2.2 1.83.2 2.9 1.9

6.4

3.25.4

15.2

19.6

15.9

11.3

38.6

6.88.7

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45


HO

UR

S P

ER

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST

462

640

188

371332

392 15

104

1635 40 4722 2 5

455

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700


NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


5

8

11 11

7 7

5

3

2

1 1

2 2

1 1

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

INCHES

FIGURE 4. LENGTH DISTRIBUTION OF HARVESTED FISH MEASURED BY CLERK

23.5

21.2

23.0 23.7

20.0 20.0

23.321.9

29.1

24.2

29.5

25.0

20.021.7

35.5

23.8

15

20

25

30

35

40


INC

HE

S

MONTH

AVERAGE LARGEST


429

791

411

625

244

1252

304

46

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900


AN

GL

ING

HO

UR

S

MONTH



MUSKELLUNGE

INFORMATION PROVIDED FOR OPEN WATER CREEL SURVEY

29.0

56.8

24.3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

MAY JUN. JUL. AUG. SEP. OCT.

HO

UR

S P

ER

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


5

8

5

18

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20


NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


0

1

2

40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

INCHES


40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50


INC

HE

S

MONTH

AVERAGE LARGEST


48

147

276 279

372

241

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400


AN

GL

ING

HO

UR

S

MONTH


No Fish Measured

SMALLMOUTH BASS

4.4 1.5

12.16.8

1.110.5

116.3

72.5

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140


HO

UR

S P

ER

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


45

242

109

136

41

5 13 8

0

50

100

150

200

250

300


NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


1 1

0

1

2

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

INCHES


18.7

20.0

18.7

20.0

10

12

14

16

18

20


INC

HE

S

MONTH

AVERAGE LARGEST


144

350

862

570

29 5 14

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000


AN

GL

ING

HO

UR

S

MONTH


LARGEMOUTH BASS

2.1 1.4 1.2 3.2 2.0 4.2

20.7

114.9

45.9

11.8 10.94.2

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140


HO

UR

S P

ER

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


194

829

627

436

201

2 14 7 321 32 15

8732 14 5 3

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900


NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


2

4

1 1

5

14

8

6

3

1

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

INCHES


14.7 14.6 14.4

12.6

14.6

17.0 16.917.5 17.3

16.3 16.3

15.6

18.9

16.9

10

12

14

16

18

20


INC

HE

S

MONTH

AVERAGE LARGEST


250

1033

667

891

311

28 50

200

400

600

800

1000

1200


AN

GL

ING

HO

UR

S

MONTH


BLUEGILL

0.6

0.2 0.20.4 0.3 0.3 0.2

0.3

2.4

0.8

1.2 1.2

1.7

0.6 0.70.9

0

1

2

3

4


HO

UR

S P

ER

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


326

4044

6978

2930

492737

2834

19876

1085 1243900

97 299

896

74

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000


NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


29

357

123

20

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

5 6 7 8 9 10

NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

INCHES


7.97.6 7.6 7.5 7.5

7.8 7.87.6

8.68.8

8.48.6 8.6

8.89.1 9.1

5

6

7

8

9

10


INC

HE

S

MONTH

AVERAGE LARGEST


174

913

1489

1053

167

11

186

619

67

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600


AN

GL

ING

HO

UR

S

MONTH


PUMPKINSEED

0.30.5

2.1

0.9

1.5

6.3

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7


HO

UR

S P

ER

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


41

335

45

12 117

122

221

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400


NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


16

5

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

5 6 7 8 9 10

NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

INCHES


8.2

7.67.9

7.6

8.6

8.28.5

7.6

5

6

7

8

9

10


INC

HE

S

MONTH

AVERAGE LARGEST


13

175

73

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200


AN

GL

ING

HO

UR

S

MONTH


BLACK CRAPPIE

1.0

0.7

1.3

2.2 2.2

3.6

1.8

3.0 3.0

2.5

3.8

1.8

0

1

2

3

4

5


HO

UR

S P

ER

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


826

109137

47 68 8222

287

3161 77

22

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900


NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


7

34

28

1719

11

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

INCHES


10.6

10.0

11.011.3

10.7

13.3

12.8

13.513.8

13.5

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14


INC

HE

S

MONTH

AVERAGE LARGEST


864

64112 106

20 25

143

288

38

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000


AN

GL

ING

HO

UR

S

MONTH


YELLOW PERCH

2.6

0

1

2

3


HO

UR

S P

ER

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


5

34

25

11

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40


NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


0

1

2

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

INCHES


5

7

9

11

13

15


INC

HE

S

MONTH

AVERAGE LARGEST


12

43

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50


AN

GL

ING

HO

UR

S

MONTH


No Fish Measured

ROCK BASS

NO PICTURE AVAILABLE

0.4

1.1

0.60.6

1.5

0.6

0

1

2

3


HO

UR

S P

ER

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


5

226217

80

19

15

51 54

16

0

50

100

150

200

250


NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

MONTH

CATCH HARVEST


9

8

4

1

0

2

4

6

8

10

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

NU

MB

ER

OF

FIS

H

INCHES


10.2

8.1 8.2 8.1

10.6

9.39.7

9.1

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15


INC

HE

S

MONTH

AVERAGE LARGEST


18

66

8

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70


AN

GL

ING

HO

UR

S

MONTH


TOTAL ANNUAL ANGLER DIRECTED EFFORT BY SPECIES

This graph illustrates the percentage of time that anglers spent fishing for each species during the entire creel survey. The percentages are based on the species of

fish anglers told the clerk they were fishing for, not what they actually caught. If a particular species is not present in the graph it is because no one reported they

were fishing for that species.

Middle Eau Claire Lake 2019-20

Walleye13.4%

Northern Pike15.6%

Muskellunge7.3%

Smallmouth Bass

10.6%Largemouth Bass

17.0%

Bluegill25.0%

Pumpkinseed1.4%

Black Crappie8.9%

Yellow Perch0.3%

Rock Bass0.5%

SEASONAL ANGLER EFFORT SUMMARY

Estimated angler fishing effort on Middle Eau Claire Lake for each month surveyed and by season(Summer and Winter).

Month

Number of

Angler Party

Interviews

Total Angler

Hours

Total Angler

Hours/Acre

Bayfield

County

Average

Hours/Acre

Ceded

Territory

Average

Hours/Acre

May 82 1790 2.0 3.2 5.1

June 90 2643 2.9 4.8 6.4

July 68 3339 3.7 5.0 6.9

August 60 2794 3.1 3.8 5.4

September 36 929 1.0 2.0 3.3

October 21 423 0.5 1.0 1.5

December 3 71 0.1 0.6 1.1

January 20 320 0.4 0.8 1.6

February 32 791 0.9 0.8 1.5

March 9 115 0.1 0.1 0.2

*Summer Total 357 11918 13.2 19.9 28.6

*Winter Total 64 1297 1.4 2.4 4.4

Grand Total 421 13215 14.7 22.2 33.0

*"Summer" is May-October; "Winter" is December-March

*March includes only data collected to the end of the gamefish season.

2019-20

Ceded Territory Average Hours/Acre is the average angler effort in hours per acre for inland lakes in the ceded

territory surveyed between 1990 and 2013. This value can be used to compare this lake to other lakes in the ceded

territory.

Number of Angler Party Interviews is the number of groups of anglers interviewed by the creel clerk. A party is

considered the members of a group who fish together in the same boat, ice shanty, or from shore. The clerk fills out one

interview form for each group of anglers. The number of individual anglers actually contacted by the clerk is usually

much greater than the number of groups listed in this table since most groups consist of more than one angler.

Total Angler Hours is the estimated total number of hours that anglers spent fishing on this lake during each month

surveyed.

Total Angler Hours/Acre is the total angler hours divided by the area of the lake in acres. This is useful if you wish to

compare effort on this lake to others.

County Average Hours/Acre is the average angler effort in hours per acre for county lakes that have been surveyed since

1990. This value can be useful in comparisons as well.

CREEL SURVEY HISTORY/SYNOPSISMIDDLE EAU CLAIRE LAKE, BAYFIELD COUNTY

CREEL YEAR: 2019-20

SPECIES

DIRECTED

EFFORT

(Hours)

PERCENT

OF TOTAL

TOTAL

CATCH

SPECIFIC

CATCH

RATE

(Hrs/Fish)

TOTAL

HARVEST

SPECIFIC

HARVEST

RATE

(Hrs/Fish)

MEAN

LENGTH OF

HARVESTED

FISH

Walleye 2505 13.4% 377 6.8 106 26.3 19.0

Northern Pike 2914 15.6% 2169 2.4 201 16.1 22.8

Muskellunge 1363 7.3% 36 54.1 0 NA 0.0

Smallmouth Bass 1974 10.6% 579 4.5 11 181.8 19.4

Largemouth Bass 3185 17.0% 2313 1.8 209 22.7 14.4

Bluegill 4679 25.0% 18539 0.3 4670 1.0 7.7

Pumpkinseed 261 1.4% 434 0.7 162 1.8 7.7

Black Crappie 1660 8.9% 1291 1.4 478 3.6 10.8

Yellow Perch 55 0.3% 75 12.0 0 NA 0.0

Rock Bass 92 0.5% 548 0.7 126 1.1 8.3

CREEL YEAR: 2016-17

SPECIES

DIRECTED

EFFORT

(Hours)

PERCENT

OF TOTAL

TOTAL

CATCH

SPECIFIC

CATCH

RATE

(Hrs/Fish)

TOTAL

HARVEST

SPECIFIC

HARVEST

RATE

(Hrs/Fish)

MEAN

LENGTH OF

HARVESTED

FISH

Walleye 3730 16.5% 556 7.3 127 34.5 18.0

Northern Pike 3334 14.8% 2896 2.9 297 11.8 23.7

Muskellunge 2361 10.5% 45 88.5 0 NA 0.0

Smallmouth Bass 1975 8.8% 1225 1.9 97 22.9 16.0

Largemouth Bass 2936 13.0% 2428 2.2 116 63.7 15.0

Bluegill 6210 27.5% 27804 0.2 7157 0.9 7.6

Pumpkinseed 44 0.2% 124 1.0 71 1.8 7.5

Black Crappie 1759 7.8% 1532 1.2 1222 1.5 11.4

Yellow Perch 80 0.4% 125 5.1 9 NA 6.9

Rock Bass 135 0.6% 509 1.4 137 1.4 8.4

middle eau claire lake - wisconsin dnr...middle eau claire is located north of hayward on hwy 27 in...

Documents