February Monthly Meeting

Nicole Watson  is a doctoral candidate at Michigan State University’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. Her research focuses on steelhead and the successful reintroduction of Arctic Grayling in Michigan streams  and she has studied 46 tributaries of Lake Michigan.

The overarching goal of her research is to clarify uncertainties to successful Grayling reintroduction to Michigan streams. It is a multifaceted study including the following: predation of Grayling fry by resident, age-1 Brook and Brown trout; competition between age-0 Grayling, Brook, and Brown trout; Grayling imprinting to home waters at early life stages; alarm cues; aspects of physiological development; predator avoidance and predator cue recognition by juvenile Grayling.  Her research takes her to Alaska each spring to transport Grayling eggs back to her lab at Michigan State University. She spends each summer and fall running trials back in the lab (and finding time to fly fish in Northern Michigan).

Nicole was first introduced to fly fishing at age-9 on the banks of the Au Sable at Wyandotte Lodge (now Riverside).  Nicole is on the Board of Directors of Anglers of the Au Sable, a member of Trout Unlimited and the American Fisheries Society. She lives with her husband, Tom, in Dundee, MI. They love to fish, hunt, hike and relax in the great outdoors.  Like to fish for steelhead?  You don’t want to miss this program.

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