The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will pay you $100 to hook a fish, but there's a catch: It has to be a specially tagged, electronically enhanced walleye.

The DNR has implanted 400 walleyes with high-tech microchip transmitters near their stomachs and released them in lakes Huron and Erie. The transmitters help researchers track the popular game fish as they wander within the Huron/Erie corridor.

"We want to learn how walleyes are moving from Saginaw Bay into the main basin of Lake Huron, and from Lake Erie into Lake Huron," said David Fielder, a fisheries research biologist for the DNR. "We've had a jaw tagging program for years, which told us that walleyes move between lakes, but we didn't know when it occurs or the magnitude of it."

So in early April, Michigan and Ohio DNR researchers descended on the Tittabawassee and Maumee rivers in a walleye roundup. Biologists used electricity to stun fish and then selected walleyes that were at least 17 inches long.

The researchers anesthetized and disinfected the fish and then made incisions near their stomachs, Fielder said. After inserting the transmitters — about the size of a thumb — each fish was sutured back up. Each transmitter has its own frequency.

Biologists also attached an orange tag to a back fin to help anglers know they had hooked a special "Willie Wonka" golden ticket-esque walleye.

Fielder said three or four transmitters already have been returned to the DNR.

Anglers who catch the marked walleye can call (989) 734-4768 from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Other times, leave a message at ext. 111.

"Fishermen can release the fish if they wish, but if they filet it they should keep the transmitter at room temperature — do not freeze it," Fielder said. "They can keep the meat, we just need the transmitter. They can drop it off at the nearest DNR office, mail it in or we'll pick it up."

Saginaw Bay anglers are aware of the tagging project, said "Captain" Dan Manyen, owner of Walleyes Express Charters. Manyen, of Essexville, posted the news on a fishing site.

"I told them why it was being done and what to do if they caught a tagged walleye," he said. "Personally, if I caught one, I'd just record the number and then release it so it would continue to send information to the DNR."

As part of the project, the DNR has sunk dozens of hydrophones — underwater microphones — in lakes St. Clair, Huron and Erie as well as the Tittabawassee, St. Clair, Detroit and Maumee rivers. The hydrophones — the locations of which can be found at www.glfc.org/telemetry — record the location and direction of travel of the fish.

Program costs $800,000
According to the DNR, the tracking program cost is $800,000, with the funds coming from Congress under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative created under President George W. Bush's administration. The money covers tracking equipment not only for walleye, but also for lake trout and sea lampreys, Fielder said.

"The reason for the project is to answer fundamental questions about how best to promote the health of the Great Lakes," Fielder said. "The ultimate goal is to learn more specifics about how walleyes populate Lake Huron — where are they coming from and how and when are they moving into the main basin of the lake from Saginaw Bay."

Walleye — named for their whitish-colored, opaque eyes — are native to the Great Lakes. Their newborn eat insects and plankton. Adult walleye prefer smelt, minnows and yellow perch, but will eat crustaceans (such as crayfish) and frogs.

"Walleyes are now one of the principal predators," Fielder said. "And this will help us understand predator and prey ratios, which can then help us to manage the entire fish community of Lake Huron."

Fielder said the walleye population is exploding to the point where the DNR no longer has to stock the Great Lakes.

In the early 2000s, a major change was under way in the lakes' food chain because of zebra mussels, Fielder said. Alewives — an invasive small fish — basically disappeared from Lake Huron because their food was eaten by zebra mussels.

"Alewives also eat walleye fry, but more fry survived as alewife numbers dropped," Fielder said. "Ultimately, walleyes were the winners in the food chain war."

Walleye get healthy
A healthy walleye population is a big turnaround from 2006, when the DNR reduced production and stocking after the viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus decimated stocks. The DNR slashed its walleye production at state fish hatcheries until it found a way to disinfect walleye eggs of the disease and began to restock the lakes.

"The walleye population is doing very well," said Dave Markelefski, president of the Lake St. Clair Walleye Association. "Our association recently stocked two ponds on the grounds of Selfridge ANG station (in Harrison Township) with 300,000 walleye fry.

"When they grow to about 2 inches long we'll stock them in a number of inland waterways, including Cass, Ford, Wixom and Milford lakes and Stoney Creek."

The DNR isn't expecting a big payout over the tagged walleye.

"Based on past experiences with jaw tagging, we expect to see about 15 fish caught each year," said Fielder, who expects the program to run for two to three years.