Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
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Ryckman, J. R. (1986). Effectiveness of fish ladders in the Grand River. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries Research Report 1937.
Fish ladders were built on the Grand River to allow anadromous salmonids to migrate from Lake Michigan to the Lansing area. The study was started in the fall of 1982 to evaluate the fishing pressure and catch of anadromous fish. Visual counts were made at each fish ladder in spring and fall on a random around-the-clock basis to measure the number of salmonids moving upstream. Spring floods appeared to aid steelhead migration but hindered fishing. Returns of stocked salmonids to the Grand River fishery were roughly estimated by comparing average number stocked to average number harvested. Returns were about 2.8% for coho, 3.4% for chinook, and 2.2% for steelhead.