Baldwin to be Commemorated as Site of First German Brown Trout

Pere Marquette rail trail bridge

The Dwight Liddel Chapter of the Izaak Walton League is working with the MDNR to develop and place a interpretative panel along the Pere Marquette Trail at the Baldwin River by the old railroad bridge north of Baldwin.

It was there in 1884 that the first German Brown Trout fingerlings were planted in North America. From that planting the Brown Trout have become a mainstay of the trout fishing in Lower Michigan. Jim Biener is heading up this and the goal is to have it dedicated next summer.

In 1984 the Ike’s put a bronze plaque on the RR bridge to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the planting. This plaque was unfortunately vandalized. The Michigan Trout Stamp in 1984 featured the German Brown Trout from a painting by Michigan artist Heiner Hertling.

Plans are to have this picture be part of the interactive panel along with some excerpts from an extensive research article written by member John Luton for the centennial celebration. John’s research article entitled, 1884-1984 A Trout’s Tail was published in the March/April 1984 issue of the Michigan Natural Resources magazine.

from Dwight Liddel Chapter of the Izaak Walton League, newsletter, Jan 2008, used with permission
These links are checked on the date of the article. As the article ages, some links may become invalid

Go To www.getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com for all the news
See Historic Markers
See Fishing