DNR creel clerks checking on anglers’ wintertime catches

HARVEY — The Michigan DNR has staff members out on Little Bay de Noc and other bodies of water in the U.P. to check in with anglers about their wintertime catch.

The DNR calls them ‘creel clerks’. The creel clerks will be interviewing people who’ve been out ice fishing about how long they fished, what species they were targeting, what they caught and where they live.

The surveys have nothing to do with law enforcement.

“It’s a brief interview just looking for some basic information that does help us a great deal in managing fish populations, as well as providing the opportunities that people are wanting for angling,” DNR Fisheries Division Lake Superior basin coordinator Phil Schneeberger said.

Besides Little Bay de Noc, the creel clerks will be out in Munising, Marquette, Au Train, Keweenaw Bay and several other locations.

“We do appreciate the information,” Schneeberger said. “It’s one of the longest–running programs we have in the (Fisheries) Division. It’s very comprehensive on a national scale, and it provides some great information.”

Creel clerks will also talk with anglers at Great Lakes boating access sites, fishing piers and shorelines to obtain estimates on the spring, summer and fall fisheries.

DNR staff members will do that starting on April 1st and continuing into the fall.