States stock more chinook in Lake Michigan. And stargazers camp out for night sky party.

In the last week of April, Indiana carried out the annual stocking of young chinook salmon into its corner of Lake Michigan but — like Michigan and Wisconsin — did so with boosted numbers.

The increases will pay off for anglers once the juvenile fish have grown in 2024 and 2025.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources stocked 75,000 chinook salmon at East Chicago, Ind., 100,000 in the Little Calumet River and 100,000 in Trail Creek at Michigan City. Altogether, that’s 275,000, which is 50,000 more than usual.

Michigan likewise increased its chinook stocking goal to 1 million, up from 650,000 in 2022. Wisconsin’s goal is 1.3 million chinook, up from 1.2 million. This pulls back on a decade of stocking cuts.

Biologists feel good adding more chinook because there's a "pretty good” balance, for now, with alewife numbers, Ben Dickinson, Indiana DNR’s Lake Michigan fisheries research biologist, says.

Alewives are a nonnative fish that make up 90% to 95% of the chinook’s diet in Lake Michigan. Massive numbers of alewives had led to big die-offs of them in the 1960s and 1970s. Decades later, they hit all-time lows in the mid-2010s. As biologists track them, Dickinson, who's based in Michigan City, now feels “cautiously optimistic” but with a need to keep watching.

He said it will take three to five years of data from these boosted stockings to see if the states need to readjust their numbers. The Lake Michigan Committee, a regional fisheries management panel, helps the states to think about, research and work on these kinds of fish-related issues together.

Indiana's DNR reports that it yielded survey responses from more than 3,100 trout and salmon anglers who were queried about potential management options for chinook stocking. The agency says it also relied on data on anglers’ use of stocking sites, angler catch rates, access to fishing sites and chinook survival rates.

Indiana’s stocked chinook came from a state hatchery in Walkerton. But about 55% to 70% of chinook salmon in Lake Michigan are born in the wild, mostly from northern Michigan rivers, Dickinson says. The rivers up there have gravel bottoms that are conducive to raising salmon eggs, whereas the fine, silty soil in northern Indiana rivers tends to suffocate the eggs, he says.

At about 4 inches long, the freshly stocked juvenile salmon will grow to about 10 to 15 inches in 2024 and 25 to 30 inches in 2025. They’ll spend one to three years feeding in Lake Michigan before returning to their stocking sites as mature spawning adults.

Michiana Star Party

Now lift your gaze. The 13th annual Michiana Star Party from May 19 to 21 invites you to camp overnight, if you like, at Dr. T.K. Lawless County Park, 15122 Monkey Run St., Vandalia, to watch and learn about stars through multiple telescopes alongside regional night-sky experts.

Lawless has international and state recognition as a “dark sky” park because of its minimal light pollution. And the festival attracts an average of 50 people, depending on the weather, to spend two nights staying up late.

It starts with a talk at 8 p.m. May 19 by Cass County park commissioner/night sky aficionado Robert Parrish on eclipse astrophotography, then guided observations of the constellations. On May 20, retired astronomy professor Jim Hopkins from Illinois will talk about telescopes at 11 a.m., University of Notre Dame astrophysicist Timothy Beers will talk on “Deaths of the First Stars” at 1 p.m., and Northwestern University physics and astronomy professor Shane Larson will talk about “The Women of the Harvard Computers and the Birth of Modern Astronomy” at 2:30 p.m.

There will also be organized activities for kids on May 20 as well as vendors. Visitors will also have access to the park’s seven-mile hiking and 10-mile mountain biking trails, ball fields and disc golf course. Dogs on leashes are allowed. Red cellophane will be provided to cover flashlights to protect star viewing.

This is the only time when camping is allowed at the park. It’s primitive, with access to flush toilets but no showers or electrical hookups. Setup can begin after 3 p.m. but before sunset May 19.

There will be a communal fireplace, grill and microwave oven. Hot drinks and bottled water will be provided.

For the weekend, cost at the gate is $40 per adult and $10 for those 17 and younger. A day pass costs $10. For more information, visit the Michiana Astronomical Society’s event site at http://michiana-astro.org/index.php/msp13/.

Pilgrimage across diocese

Speaking of fishes and the heavens, this seems to fit: A pilgrimage from June 4 through June 11 will cross the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. It invites the faithful to walk for just the first mile of any day, or for a full day, which will span from eight to 20 miles depending on the segment, or for the entire eight days.

It launches with a 10-mile walk June 4 from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne. There are stops in Goshen and Elkhart. And on June 11, it finishes with an eight-mile trek from Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Mishawaka to St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend, arriving in time for Mass with the bishop, the Rev. Kevin C. Rhoades.

Pilgrims are responsible for their own water (unless you walk a full day), food, lodging and transportation (unless you’re doing all eight days).

The diocese is hosting the walk as a way to kick off a national “Eucharistic procession” that will happen all across the U.S. in the summer of 2024, concluding in Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress in July 2024.

Pilgrims will walk along roadsides and sidewalks. There will be an assist vehicle along the route for those who need help. Learn more and register at diocesefwsb.org/procession.

Keep on trekkin'

∎ Mt. Tabor hike: Walk the hills and vineyards of Mt. Tabor Trails, which connect Round Barn Estate and Tabor Hill Winery & Restaurant in Baroda, with the Harbor Country Hikers at 10 a.m. May 20. The group will cover about two miles of the 3.5 miles in the trails. Meet at the Round Barn Estate, 10983 Hills Road in Baroda. From Shawnee Road west of U.S. 31, go south on Hills Road for 1.7 miles.

∎ Pilgrims at Chikaming: Join the local chapter of American Pilgrims on the Camino for a 2.5-mile hike at 3 p.m. May 21 at Chikaming Township Park and Preserve in Three Oaks. The park is north of U.S. 12 on Warren Woods Road, just east of Interstate 94 and 1.4 miles east of Red Arrow Highway. The group will then gather at 4:30 p.m. at Union Pier Social, 16036 Red Arrow Highway, Union Pier.

∎ Michiana Bike to Work Week: Remember that daily biking and eating opportunities are well under way through Sunday. Find all details listed in last week’s column, linked here online.

May 10, 2023: Ride, eat, drink and learn daily through Michiana Bike to Work Week

∎ Women’s Bike Ride: The city of Goshen offers a ride for and about women at 2 p.m. May 21, though anyone can join regardless of gender. The 2.5-mile ride, starting and ending at Goshen Brewing Co., 315 W. Washington St., will make three stops where a high school student will do a performance as a historical woman of the city. A $5 donation is encouraged. A mechanic will be at Goshen Brewing starting at 1 p.m. to make bike safety checks and do minor tune-ups. For those who lack a bike, the city will have a few that can be rented at 574-975-6255.

∎ Potawatomi hike: Hoosier Hikers will host 5K and 10K hikes that you can start anytime between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. May 27 near the nature center at Potawatomi Wildlife Park near Bourbon. The park is at 16998 Indiana 331, a half mile south of Indiana 10. Donations will be collected for the park in memory of long-time hiker Susan Cameron and park managers Sharon and Michael Stephan. For questions, contact Bob Buzolich at 574-339-9140 or sonofbuzz@prodigy.net.

∎ 1966 challenge: The Indiana Dunes National Park is offering a challenge through this summer to do a ranger-led hike each week, covering 19 hikes and 66 miles to honor the year 1966, when the park was formed. It started last week at the Heron Rookery. Next up is a hike from 8 to 10:30 a.m. CDT May 20 from the Great Marsh trail parking lot, and then from 8 to 11 a.m. CDT May 27 from the Pinhook Bog parking lot. For more information, call 219-395-1882 or visit the park’s website or Facebook page.

Find columnist Joseph Dits on Facebook at SBTOutdoorAdventures or 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Chinook salmon stocking rises in Lake Michigan to balance alewives