Opeongo Creel Survey:
A creel survey is a survey of anglers and their catch. Surveys can vary depending on whether or not interviewers are collecting information on completed fishing trips or while the anglers are still fishing (an incomplete trip). At Lake Opeongo, the creel survey is largely based on completed fishing trips and consists of interviewing anglers for information on their fishing hours, location and other relevant data such as gear type. The catch of fish is sampled for size, calcified tissues are removed for aging fish and other biological information such as diet and health of the fish are recorded. By the way, "creel" is a Scottish word for the wicker basket that anglers in the past used to hold their catch of fish.
The Opeongo creel survey is now in its 72nd year (1936-2008) and represents one of the longest running long-term studies of animal population ecology in the world. The creel runs each year from the start of the trout fishing season on the last Saturday of April to the close on September 30. The catch consists largely of lake trout and smallmouth bass with the occasional brook trout and burbot.
Each year a summary of the creel census and other science summaries are provided for anglers and the public. Here's the latest version of the "Opeongo Creel Bulletin".
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Creel Survey Background.
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New Sonic Tags in Lake Trout
We are implanting new sonic tags in lake trout in June 2007. These tags will be monitored with hydroacoustic equipment to better correlate the strength of the hydroacoustic signal with the known size of individual lake trout. This work will allow us to refine our estimates of lake trout abundance in lakes. Lake trout with implanted sonic transmitters have an external t-tag.
All anglers should report tagged lake trout at the creel hut located near the boat ramp on Opeongo.
Fall Lake Trout Tagging:
Over the years, staff at Harkness have tagged lake trout on spawning shoals in Lake Opeongo. In the past, tagging was done once in the fall with tag returns in the spring fishery providing the data for a population estimate. Several years would pass between tagging sessions. Since the late-1990's, fall tagging has occurred each year so that survival estimates can be made.
Lake trout are double-tagged with a PIT tag and an external t-tag. This provides an estimate of tag loss.
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