Michigan Department of Conservation
Institute for Fisheries Research Report No.1743,1967

Observations on Movements of Wild Trout in Two Michigan Stream Drainages


David S. Shetter


      Abstract.-This report deals with the migration of wild brook trout and brown trout, over 7 inches long, in the Hunt Creek and upper Au Sable River systems. Between 1934 and 1967 we jaw-tagged 3,320 brook trout, 5,615 brown trout; anglers reported catching 346 of the brook trout, 480 brown trout. Brook trout were recaptured close to where they had been tagged and released-91% within one mile, the remainder within 11 miles. Migration of brown trout (in the Au Sable system) was more variable. Seven- to 13-inch browns stayed mostly (75-88%) within one mile of tagging sites. Most browns over 13 inches in the North and South Branches Au Sable migrated several miles (some up to 10 to 40 miles), but in the Main Au Sable 90% of the big browns were less than one mile from tagging site. Spring-tagged trout gave 1.8 times as many returns as fall-tagged fish. Brook trout recoveries were 97% within the first year after tagging; whereas 67% of the reports for browns came within the first year, and 33% after 2 to 5 years.

The data reported on here were gathered from two neighboring drainages in the north-central part of the lower peninsula of Michigan, both of which have harbored wild trout for much of the present century. Information on movements of wild brook trout (Salvelinus f. fontinalis) are given for Hunt Creek, a tributary of the Thunder Bay River. The movements observed among wild brook trout and wild brown trout (Salmo trutta) are listed for the North Branch of the Au Sable, Main Au Sable, and South Branch of the Au Sable River. Hunt Creek differs noticeably from the other streams in that it is much smaller in physical dimensions and flow; at the time of observations there it contained only wild brook trout. My objective was to determine if there were any significant movement patterns among the wild brook trout and brown trout in these four streams.