The St. Joseph River ladders were opened on March 5th and the Grand River ladders were opened during the week of March 9th. Water temperatures rose very slowly this spring, resulting in a prolonged steelhead run. Steelhead movement through the ladders remained relatively steady from late March through most of April. The St. Joseph fish ladders were closed during the month of May and reopened during the first week of June.

The DNR fish cam is run by computer software called FishTick provided by Salmonsoft. Click here to view web cam photos. The approximate field of view for the fish cam is 36" x 36". FishTick simplifies the task of counting fish at dams and weirs. When counting fish, one may sit in front of the viewing window for hours and not see a thing. FishTick allows the fish counter to only view the frames that contain passing fish. This saves the counter time and ensures that all passing fish are counted.

Below are four clips of fish passage at Berrien Springs and Niles. Each clip represents a six hour time block. FishTick has compressed that six hour block and only shows frames where fish actually passed by the fish cam. The setting on the FishTick has been set low to collect small objects, so an occasional leaf can be seen passing by.

Berrien Springs, April 9, 2000, Spring Run Steelhead

Berrien Springs, July 15, 2000, Summer Steelhead

Niles, April 13, 2000, Spring Steelhead

Niles, October 13, 2000, Mix of Steelhead and Chinook Salmon

Click here for fish passage by species for Berrien Springs, Niles, and South Bend ladders from 1992-2005.

Please contact the Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit at (269) 685-6851, if you have any questions.

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