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The Lake Huron Fishing Club is a conservation based sports club formed in 1983 by a dedicated group of anglers on the Ontario shore of Lake Huron. Thousands of hours of volunteer labour are put in every year by club members operating the Club's two fish hatcheries carrying out stream enhancement projects working in area schools working side by side with government agencies on assessment, enforcement, environmental projects and fighting to protect the fishing rights of our members. When we are not working we try to have some fun enjoying and sharing the sport we love.
All the fish are now on #1 grower and doing well. Fin clipping will start around the 21st of April. Most of the fish will be around 4 grams by then but the last one’s in will probably have to wait a couple of weeks before they are at the proper size.
Report Complied by Garry Biederman
Hatchery Phone: 519-389-4474
Our hatchery is full of fish! The rainbow tanks are filled to capacity ( and maybe beyond). The size of the rainbows in the middle of March was bigger than we released them in April last year. We are just waiting for Spring to actually arrive to start releasing. I would estimate sometime around the 3rd week of April. If anyone would like to get involved with any of the Spring fish releases please contact Ray Walser.
The brown trout are in the process of being counted and moved to our intermediate tanks. This is a tedious but necessary task. Thanks to Bill Zoppi and Barry Stinson for doing the bulk of the transfers so far. The browns are looking very good and overall mortalities have been very low so far with this batch.
We will be preparing the hatchery for a new batch of rainbow trout eggs. The Steelheaders have indicated they should be ready to open up the fishladder at Denny's Dam sometime around the middle of April.
We are planning for a Trout Hatchery Open House on April 20th, 12:00 till 4:00 pm. With luck we may have rainbow eggs, brown trout fry and yearling rainbows all present in the hatchery. If you would like to come and see what our volunteers have been working at all winter you would be welcomed. Please bring friends or family with you. We are looking for additional people willing to act as tour guides, so if you can help out let me know.
Report Compiled by Al Wilkins
Hatchery Phone: 519-396-5833
The Ministry of Natural Resources has committed to conduct an Environmental Assessment (EA) of fish stocking into Lake Huron. An assessment will eventually be done on each of the Great Lakes. Lake Huron is the first. The outcome of the EA will determine the future of all sport and commercial fish stocking into the lake. This includes lake trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, salmon and walleye. Needless to say, the EA may have huge impacts on sport fishing in Lake Huron.
The first step in the EA is a Fish Stocking Survey for Lake Huron. This is a series of questions that "stakeholders" are being asked to gauge opinions on current stocking policies and principles and the desire for changes. It is incredibly important for sports fishermen be heard that they wish stocking to continue. There will be some groups that are going to be coming out in force to say that all stocking of sport fish into the lake should be terminated. We know that this is not justified or in the best interests of Ontario.
Please, please take the time to fill in the Fish Stocking Survey to protect our sport. For people with internet access, the survey can be found at http://huron.rem.sfu.ca. If you do not have internet access, we can provide you with a paper copy to fill in. Contact Al Wilkins, 519-396-9764 or any member of the club executive to receive your copy. Read each question carefully and answer honestly. The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete. Surely you can spare this much time to ensure our sport is maintained!
The Michigan Government has completed a detailed report on what is happening with Lake Huron. The full report may be read by clicking here. This is a very informative article worth the time to read.
The 2008/2009 recreational fishing regulations summary is on the shelves ( if you can find one). The biggest change that you will notice is the reduction in the number of fishery management zones. We have gone from 35 zones to 20 zones. Lake Huron is now Zone 13 and Georgian Bay is Zone 14. The inland area of southwestern Ontario is Zone 16.
One major change is in the "Exceptions" section for the regulations for inland from the main lake. There used to be several "exceptions" which described year-round, early or extended seasons for trout and salmon in tributaries flowing into Lake Huron. These "exceptions" are no longer required because the boundaries for the zone for the main lake ( Zone 13 ) now includes the normally "excepted" area. This means that the seasons and limits for Lake Huron now apply right up to the abutments below Denny's Dam on the Saugeen, up to the Queen St. bridge on the Penetangore, up to HWY 21 on the Maitland River and to just below the falls on the Sauble River. There should not be any reduction in fishing opportunities.
Unfortunately the MNR did not make clear in the new regulation summary where the boundaries are. For someone new to the area there will be confusion. For people familiar with the rivers there will basically be no change. The MNR has been asked to issue some sort of explanation. They have said that they may put detailed maps on their webpage later in the year.
Something else to be aware of is that the limits for lake trout for the main lake have been reduced. You are now only allowed 2 lake trout in your possession. The limit for whitefish has been reduced from 25 to 12 per day. Yellow perch now has a limit of 50 per day. These limit changes were against the recommendation of the Lake Huron Fisheries Stewardship Council.
The following is a letter received from McIntee Reality of Port Elgin in regards to supporting Non Profit Groups. Please spread the word about this exciting endeavour which could be very beneficial to our Club.
The following is an excerpt taken from Darryl Choronzey's January 2008 Going Fishing TV Newsletter. The original Newsletter may be found by clicking here.
A few months back I mentioned the hard
work being carried out by the Lake Huron
Our fishing community has lost a legend. On December 13, 2007 Grant Ferris lost his hard fought battle with cancer.
The Lake Huron Fishing Club would not likely exist without Grant Ferris. Grant’s passion for fishing, his concern for protecting the natural resources of our province and his enthusiasm to share his knowledge of the sport with others resulted in Grant helping to found our club in 1983.
Grant was well known for his constant positive enthusiasm. Grant could not dwell on how bad things might be. He saw what improvements were being made and how so many people were working so hard to make things better. People loved to be around Grant. He made you feel important and appreciated even though you might feel you deserved neither.
Many river fishermen will miss the sight of Grant standing in the Saugeen with his float rod, ready to share the most time tested or newest tip or piece of equipment with anyone around him. Many committees will miss Grant’s thoughtful and enthusiastic input. Many clubs and organizations will miss Grant’s dedication and experience.
We can only thank our lucky stars that we knew Grant Ferris!
In 2002, despite the howls of protest from most sports clubs in the area - ours included, the M.N.R contracted the refurbishment of the Thornbury dam on the Beaver River. As part of this project a new fish ladder was constructed to allow trout and salmon to bypass the dam. The original estimate for this project was 1 million dollars. When the water was finally turned on over 6 million dollars of taxpayers money had been wasted. Reportedly the fish ladder itself cost $2 million dollars. Granted, it was quite an impressive fish ladder. Unfortunately, last fall, the pricey piscalator sprang a leak. A sinkhole has appeared in the middle of the ladder, draining all of the water that cascades down the dam bypass. Salmon are stranded below the dam that shouldn't exist.
The United Sates Air Force has notified the Ministry of Natural Resources that they have re-activated a 40 year old "live fire practice area" in the centre of Lake Huron. This 94 km X 37 km militarily restricted zone straddles the 6 Fathom Bank and north end of Yankee Reef. Few of us fish this far out but anyone crossing the lake would be wise to take caution.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources the number of double crested cormorant nests on Chantry Island (off Southampton) in 2007 was 2,087. This was down slightly from the 2,111 nests counted in 2006.
In 2005, the year that the baitfish populations collapsed in Lake Huron, the nest count on Chantry Island was 1,443. Keep in mind that you can consider a minimum of 3 (most likely 4) adult or juvenile cormorants for every nest and that every bird will eat at least 1 pound of fish/day from a radius of 50 kilometres of the colony. This translates into the Chantry Island double crested cormorant colony consuming a minimum estimated fish biomass of 1.1 million pounds in 2007.
Alewives and smelt have almost disappeared in Lake Huron so what species’ were these cormorants feeding on? According to the M.N.R the count of double crested cormorant nests on the Ontario side of Lake Huron in 2007 was 20,102 down slightly from the 21,299 nests counted in 2006. What effect are these birds having on fish populations in Lake Huron? Do the math!!
The first place winner was Debbie McAlpine of Southampton with ticket #0821 for $471 .76. The second place winner was Nick Kubicki of Concord with ticket #0291 for $314.50.
Thank You to all who supported the club in this and previous draws.
We
encourage you to follow the "Links" at the top of the page to explore
our site to obtain To provide us with feedback or just to say "Hi" please contact the Lake Huron Fishing Club via E-mail at fish@bmts.com or fax at 519-396-6251. Thank you and enjoy your visit with us!
 For donations and/or contributions for conservation please mail to: P. O. Box 355 Southampton Ontario N0H 2L0
Club President Ray Walser Port Elgin Salmon Hatchery: 519-389-4474 Kincardine Trout Hatchery: 519-396-5833 Membership Application - Derby Entry Form Click Here For Derby Entry Form in Microsoft Word Format Click Here For Membership Application in Microsoft Word Format You may then mail to the above address. 2008 Chantry Chinook Classic Salmon Derby
The Lake Huron Fishing Club would like to thank all the unpaid volunteers who help in successfully raising and releasing Chinook Salmon, Brown & Rainbow Trout each year. Good luck fishing, you all deserve it.
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Fishing Club and the Ontario Steelheaders, especially the Brantford
chapter, in their attempts at transforming the Saugeen River into
one of the country’s top steelhead fisheries. Well, this joint
venture program is less than two years old and the efforts of the
two clubs is already paying dividends. Here’s a quick overview of
what the clubs have accomplished and what the rewards to date are on
one of Ontario’s largest coldwater streams. Back in the spring of
2006, the Steelheaders with the assistance of the Lake Huron Fishing
Club collected more than 200,000 steelhead eggs from adult rainbow
trout moving up the Saugeen River. Once fertilized, half the eggs
moved to the Lake Huron Fishing Club’s Kincardine hatchery and the
other half were relocated to the Steelheaders streamside facility
upstream on the Saugeen. The fry hatched at the smaller Saugeen
facility were distributed throughout the system’s headwaters, while
the Kincardine fish were held over for twelve months and then
stocked far upstream on the Saugeen for maximum imprinting. The
75,000 yearling steelhead smolt were of exceptional size and
exceptional survival was expected from the planting.
additional information on Anglers Concerns and our many
projects as well as the latest on our 
