Feb. 2, 2024

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is announcing the cancellation of the 2024 Black Lake sturgeon season, which was scheduled to start Saturday, Feb. 3.

A harvest limit is set for each Black Lake sturgeon season. With the current marginal ice conditions and depletion of ice on Black Lake, there is concern of excessive harvest with the inability to effectively track harvests with limited DNR personnel on the ice.

“In addition to protecting the lake sturgeon population, the safety of anglers and staff is critically important,” said Randy Claramunt, DNR Fisheries chief. “We encourage all anglers across Michigan to use extreme caution while on the ice, as we have been experiencing above-average temperatures.”

This is the first time the Black Lake sturgeon season has been canceled. It is too soon to determine whether this cancellation will influence the harvest limit next year.

Part 411 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act grants the DNR the authority to cancel the season.

Contact: Tim Cwalinski (DNR Fisheries), 231-340-0276 or

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is continuing a successful program begun in 2021 to keep boating access sites plowed at more than two dozen popular Upper Peninsula ice-fishing locations.

Two Ishpeming locations – Lake Angeline and Deer Lake – are among the latest to join the list of locations being plowed this winter.

Various local partners have agreed to assist the DNR with the program to ensure access to ice fishing opportunities in the U.P. are available consistently during snow conditions.

The nearly 30 locations – situated across 10 of the U.P.’s 15 counties – are DNR boating access sites managed for recreational boating. Read more

Adds New Features to Helm Master® EX, New Pitch Options for Saltwater Series® II Propeller Series

KENNESAW, Ga.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Yamaha jumps into 2024 with product offerings including a newly-designed F350, which meets customer demand for horsepower diversity combined with premium-level performance and reliability. Engine block and gearcase upgrades give the new F350 a strong core for powering up and going the distance, while comfort and convenience options create a confident ride. Yamaha will also release new Helm Master EX features as well as more pitch options for the popular Saltwater Series II propeller series in 2024. Read more

Jan. 2024

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has announced the totals from its 2023 fall fish stocking efforts. The DNR stocked six different species – totaling 1,076,204 fish that weighed 14.5 tons – at 103 locations throughout the state.

“It was another outstanding fall fish stocking season that will provide enhanced fishing opportunities throughout Michigan,” said Ed Eisch, assistant chief of the DNR Fisheries Division. “When added to our successful spring and summer stocking efforts, that brings the total for 2023 to more than 10.4 million fish stocked in Michigan’s waters.”

The number and type of fish stocked vary by hatchery, as each facility’s ability to rear fish differs because of water supplies and temperature. In Michigan, there are six state and three cooperative hatcheries that work together to produce the species, strain and size of fish needed by fisheries managers. These fish must then be delivered at specific times and locations for stocking to ensure their success. Most fish in Michigan are stocked in the spring.

To find out if any fish were stocked in your favorite fishing spot, or to discover a new one, visit the DNR’s fish stocking database at michigandnr.com/fishstock/.

Fall 2023 fish stocking consisted of six species: brook trout, coho salmon, lake trout, steelhead strain rainbow trout, walleye and muskellunge. Read more

Anthony Burke of Cedar Lake was fishing for perch in Lake Michigan on Jan. 6 when he landed a burbot that was 37.25 inches long and weighed 14 pounds, 3.6 ounces. Burke’s catch bested the previous record held by Phillip Duracz by nearly three pounds.

Burbot are native to Lake Michigan. They typically spend most of their time offshore in deep, cold water in Illinois or Michigan’s jurisdictional waters. During late fall and winter, burbot move into shallower Indiana waters to feed and spawn.

“Unseasonably warm weather and light winds on Lake Michigan the last several winters have provided boaters with a longer open-water fishing season and more opportunities to catch fish that are usually not in our waters, like burbot,” said DNR Lake Michigan fisheries research biologist Ben Dickinson.

Burbot are good to eat. They are in the cod family and have firm, white flesh. Find more information about Lake Michigan fishing at on.IN.gov/lake-michigan-fishing and learn more about purchasing a fishing license at on.IN.gov/huntfishlicenseretailers. Read more