HOLLAND, MI – Muskellunge tagged in Lake Macatawa have traveled as far away as Chicago, Green Bay and locations along Michigan’s western shoreline, according to tracking data from a collaborative research project designed to monitor fish movements.
The Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division partnered with the Michigan Muskie Alliance, Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System and Grand Valley State University to track muskellunge movements in Lake Macatawa in Ottawa County using acoustic telemetry technology.
Researchers implanted acoustic telemetry tags in 20 Great Lakes strain muskellunge from Lake Macatawa in April 2025. The tags, roughly the size of an AA battery, have a seven-year lifespan and were provided by the Michigan Muskie Alliance. After tagging, the fish were returned to the lake.
Eight GLATOS receivers were placed in Lake Macatawa to monitor the tagged fish. The receivers detect signals from fish implanted with acoustic transmitters, creating a network that tracks movement patterns across the Great Lakes region…