Fall VP Report
Captain Bill Winowiecki – MCBA Vice President
The 2018 charter season is wrapping up. I’m hearing reports of very large King salmon. Not very large numbers, but big fish. 20 ñ 30 lb. plus fish are very common. Lake trout fishing has been stable all summer. Brown trout are showing up in some catches.
My wife Sue has stuffed all the envelopes, and mailed the raffle tickets for the MCBA Consent Decree fund. Thank you to all the Captains who have returned their donations. We have a long way to go.
Five members of the MCBA Board attended the Tribal Executive Council meeting held on August 23, 2018, at the Grand Traverse Resort. The purpose of our board members attending this meeting is to educate our directors and members as to what exactly we are dealing with in the up-coming negotiations. I want to thank these members because they sacrificed charter fishing trips and lost income to attend this meeting.
Please consider making a donation to our tribal negotiation fund when you renew your MCBA membership this fall. I know I sound like a broken record, but the future of our fishery is at stake, and will change in two years.
Everything is on the table when the negotiations start; that includes salmon, lake trout, perch, walleye and cisco. Anything that swims in Tribal waters is considered by the tribes to be theirs. They let us know this at every Tribal Council meeting that I’ve attended.
The 24-hour fishing licenses are really a hassle this year. The Michigan DNR licensing website is a disaster! That’s putting it politely. Many customer complaints, and captains are very unhappy with this system. The MCBA Board has voiced our opinion over and over with little results or a returned phone call from the MDNR Licensing department! This is a hot issue and will be dealt with during the off season. I know that DNR has lost funding due the licensing website. Lack of funding results in lost fish plants for our state fishery.
Please consider attending the MCBA fall conference. It will be held at the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City, Michigan. If you book a room, there are free waterpark passes for kids and grand-kids. The adults can attend the open Hospitality Room drinks and pizza Friday evening. Meetings, banquet and prizes Saturday. Fun for all!
