It’s been a good time for Brianna Abercrombie to break in as a fisheries assistant for the MDNR because, well, she’s dealing with mostly contented people.
“This year they are happy with the salmon fishing,” said Abercrombie while waiting for what she termed “DYI” anglers to return to the Leland Harbor. “It’s been phenomenal really. These charter boats will come in with a limit in less than three hours of fishing.”
Abercrombie, who is spending the summer camping in a trailer in Benzie County due to a lack of housing in Leelanau, spent Monday in Leland interviewing fishers and recording their catches. Her job does not entail gathering data about the catches of charter captains, who are required to transfer that information onto a state website.
Abercrombie’s results are downloaded to a statewide data base that provides access to information about fishing at local ports and on a macro scale assembles an overview of fish populations in Lake Michigan.
“We really look at fish health and fishing pressure. It’s important to know how much pressure fishermen are putting on the resource so we can look at our stocking program. Should we stock more of slow it down?
“You have to keep the fish happy and the fishermen happy,” Abercrombie said.
She records the length and weight of fish caught, then removes one scale for each salmon caught that is examined later. For lake trout, she dissects a bone that will explain the fish’s sex and maturity.
Fishermen she encounters have their own questions.
“They want to know where to find the best spots to fish and when to catch them. I give them some of the information I hear. I keep passing it down the line,” she said.
Some of her eight-hour days are spent on the move along West Grand Bay with stops at Northport, Suttons Bay, Elmwood Township, Clinch Park and Bower’s Harbor.
Abercrombie is a graduate of Lake Superior State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in fisheries and wildlife. She grew up downstate and spent last summer in Alaska working for the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association studying sockeye and coho salmon smolts migrating out of Hidden Lake. It’s her first summer working in Leelanau County.
As a MDNR employee she hears some grumbles, too. The top three issues she fields are requests for more stocking, questions about Tribal gill-netting and concerns about invasive carp entering Lake Michigan.
You might think Abercrombie would leave fish behind at the end of the day, but not so.
“I love fishing, absolutely love it. Most days after work I fish for trout, or try to get on a boat to go fishing. My favorite place is the Manitou islands. It’s beautiful over there. You can see the sunrise and the sunset, too,” she said.
The Leelanau Outdoor Center (LOC) will celebrate 30 years with a Fall Festival Event, Oct. 5.
Participants will be able to climb the rock wall, fly down the zip line, go on a hayride, carve a pumpkin, shoot a bow and arrow, and more.
The outdoor center will be open to all from 1 to 5 p.m., and it’s just $15/person to access all the activities. Concessions will also be available.
The Leelanau Outdoor Center was founded in 1994 to serve school groups and the local community during the school year. It’s part of the umbrella organization, Camp Leelanau & Kohahna Foundation, which operates Camp Leelanau for Boys and Camp Kohahna for Girls in the summer. The mission of LOC is “to provide outstanding experiential and ecological learning in the natural environment that promotes the discovery and development of leadership and character.”
In 2023, LOC served almost 1,900 students from schools from all over the state of Michigan. LOC provides a safe, hands-on learning environment where students get to push themselves outside their comfort zone, while learning about themselves, their peers, and the natural world around them. LOC is unique in that it focuses just as much on character building as it does on science-based curriculum. This is done through high adventure activities like the high ropes course, zip line, climbing wall, and team building, while making good use of the diverse northern Michigan environment. Ecological activities include Pond Study, where students are taken to a nearby pond with a beaver dam and lodge, as well as going farther afield to the Sleeping Bear Dunes on the Big Blue Bus for Dune School. This exceptional outdoor classroom environment sets all students up for success, even if they aren’t high performers in the traditional classroom.
“LOC is the perfect place for kids to be kids, away from the pressures of social media and their devices,” said Katie Duntley, LOC director. “Here they learn how to communicate more effectively because they’re spending quality time with each other face to face, as well as stepping outside their comfort zone in a safe and supportive environment.
It’s amazing to see the growth in each student during their time here.”
More details about the event can be found at www.locprograms. org/events.
