Lake whitefish usually grow to 17 to 22 inches and range from 1.5 to 4 pounds. They are native to the Great Lakes. The largest individual on record was more than 42 pounds and was harvested from Lake Superior in 1918, according to Michigan Sea Grant. (Michigan Sea Grant photo)

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will host a virtual public meeting to gather feedback regarding proposed new total allowable catch numbers for lake whitefish in Lake Michigan and Green Bay for the 2026 fishing season.

The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29. The public can join the meeting via Microsoft Teams or by phone.

DNR staff will share information using a PowerPoint presentation and recommend joining the meeting via computer to see the information. Although the call-in number will allow attendees to listen to the discussion, callers will not be able to view the presentation.

Details on the meeting can be found at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/newsroom/release/114986.

In Michigan, there are fears among some experts that invasive mussels could cause whitefish to disappear from vast swaths of lakes Michigan and Huron.

In recent years, fewer young fish are returning to spawning grounds in northern Lake Michigan, according to the Wisconsin DNR. In contrast, whitefish populations in Green Bay have grown with documented recolonization of historical spawning grounds.

More information, meeting notes and presentations from previous meetings are available on the Wisconsin DNR’s Lake Michigan Whitefish Management webpage at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Fishing/lakemichigan/LakeMichiganCommercialWhitefish.

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Wisconsin’s pheasant season opens at 9 a.m. today and runs through Sunday, Jan. 4. The DNR plans to stock about 75,000 pheasants from the state game farm on more than 80 properties statewide, including sites in Shawano and Oconto counties.

To locate properties stocked with pheasants, hunters can use the Fields and Forest Lands Interactive Gamebird Hunting Tool at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Lands/FFLIGHT.

More information is available at https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/pheasantstocking/Index.aspx.

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The Michigan DNR reported this Upper Peninsula fishing activity:

Little Bay de Noc: Smallmouth anglers reported good fishing. Anglers reported having some success near shallow vegetation and rocks. Perch anglers reported good fishing in the shallows using perch rigs. There were some reports of fish caught deeper, but most success occurred at shallower depths.

Big Bay de Noc: Smallmouth anglers fished out of Garden Bay’s launch with good success. Most anglers caught numerous large smallmouth bass. Some anglers fished sucker minnows close to the bottom; others used soft plastics.

Marquette: This past week’s weather was a bit windier, but anglers had good success both trolling and jigging for lake trout from northwest of the White Rocks out toward north of Granite Island. Anglers did well in both deep waters around 180 feet and shallower waters near 120 feet. Numerous boat anglers caught fish north of White Rocks. Anglers also caught coho salmon at around 60 feet deep while trolling in front of both the Carp and Chocolay Rivers. Steelhead were observed caught at the mouths of some rivers, so they are expected to start moving upriver soon. Lake trout fishing was good.

Munising: Boat anglers reported a steady bite for coho salmon when trolling the bay at shallower depths. Anglers fishing off the Anna River fishing pier did well on coho salmon and splake. There was also a good number of coho salmon in the Anna River. Anglers did well when casting spoons and using spawn.

Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Reported catches consisted of lake trout and coho salmon in low numbers. Anglers reported finding fish while trolling in water depths of approximately 80 to 100 feet of water.

Keweenaw Bay/ Huron Bay: Anglers reported fair to good numbers of salmon caught. Anglers caught coho salmon and occasionally Chinook salmon while trolling spoons, crankbaits, and flasher/flies in the upper portion of the water column. Shore anglers also reported some success catching coho salmon.

Traverse Bay/Portage Entry: There was low fishing effort from these ports during the last week. Anglers reported fair to good lake trout fishing. Anglers trolling spoons and flasher/flies reported most fish were caught between 50 and 100 feet of water, while those jigging reported most fish were caught around 100 feet of water.

U.P Counties: Salmon were stacked up in the Manistique and Milakokia Rivers getting ready to spawn. Thompson Creek also saw many salmon. Perch and walleye were caught on Indian Lake. Inland lakes are saw mixed reports, with lakes near the northern Alger County/Schoolcraft County line showing more success targeting pike, bass, and panfish. Perch were caught near Kipling. Inland lakes in Luce and Mackinac Counties are produced a mixed bag of perch, walleye and northern pike.