With cold temperatures becoming more consistent throughout the state, more people are enjoying ice fishing, skating, hockey and other outdoor adventures. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources urges everyone to have fun but always use caution when venturing onto or near ice.

“Even during consistent cold stretches, pressure cracks in the ice can develop within hours,” said Lt. Skip Hagy, DNR law enforcement supervisor in Newberry. “There is no such thing as ‘safe’ ice. Always check conditions for yourself; don’t rely on what you see others doing or what they tell you.”

River mouths and other places where river or lake currents may be located are often places of unstable ice. Reservoirs with changing water levels also require great caution.

Frozen bodies of water should be checked very carefully before braving the ice. While there is no perfectly reliable method to determine if ice is safe, you can use a spud, needle bar or auger to test the thickness and quality of ice.

“Keep in mind that warm spells as brief as one day may weaken the ice,” Hagy said. “Melting ice during the day only partially refreezes at night, creating a thin layer of unstable ice.” Read more

Jan. 8, 2025

A successful fall fish stocking season means future fishing opportunities

The Department of Natural Resources worked hard this past fall to stock fish in waters across Michigan — fish that will provide anglers with more opportunities in seasons to come. The fall 2024 effort saw DNR crews stock seven different species at 78 locations throughout the state; in all, 590,504 fish, weighing in at 10.7 tons, were added to Michigan waters.

Releasing fingerlings in Baraga, MI

“It was another exceptional fall fish stocking season, enhancing fishing opportunities throughout Michigan,” said DNR Fish Production Program manager Aaron Switzer. “Combined with our successful spring and summer stocking efforts, that brings the total for 2024 to more than 9.7 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 due to water supply 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 a specific time and location for stocking to ensure their success.

In general, fish are reared in Michigan’s state fish hatcheries anywhere from one month to 1 1/2 years before they are stocked. Most fish in Michigan are stocked in the spring, but some fish are stocked in the fall because they require less time and fewer resources to rear in hatcheries, and may adjust better to new environments as they are younger and more adaptable to change.

Seven species were stocked this fall: Atlantic salmon, brook trout, brown trout, lake trout, rainbow trout (Eagle Lake and steelhead strains), walleye and muskellunge. Read more

Yamaha Marine kicks off the new year with the “New Year, New Reliability” sales event, a promotion that builds in exceptional value with the purchase of eligible Yamaha four-stroke outboards just in time for boat show season. From January 6, 2025, through March 31, 2025, customers who purchase select, new, eligible Yamaha four-stroke outboards have several options to add value depending on horsepower range.

Through the new promotion, customers who purchase eligible, new Yamaha outboards in the 30-to-450 horsepower range have an opportunity to add two years of Y.E.S. coverage* to Yamaha Limited Warranty coverage. For new eligible 30-350 hp outboards that means a total of five years of coverage protection. For new eligible 425-450 hp outboards that means a total of seven years of coverage protection. Finally, the “New Year, New Reliability” sales event gives customers who purchase Yamaha outboards in the 2.5-to-25 horsepower range the ability to earn up to $200 in dealer credit, toward the purchase of goods and/or services, based on MSRP.

“The ‘New Year, New Reliability’ sales event is all about delivering exceptional value on our most popular outboards,” said Scott Higgins, Division Manager, Marketing, Yamaha Marine Engine Systems. “As we look ahead to 2025, Yamaha remains dedicated to providing customers with the dependable power they need to fully enjoy their time on the water.”

Yamaha’s “New Year, New Reliability” sales event is effective for eligible, new Yamaha four-stroke outboards purchased from January 6, 2025, through March 31, 2025. Read more

Contact: Neal Godby, 231-340-2621 or Tim Cwalinski, 231-340-0276

The 2025 lake sturgeon fishing season on Black Lake in Cheboygan County, Michigan, will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. All anglers must register online in advance to participate in the fishing season, and those age 17 or older must have a valid Michigan fishing license.

The harvest limit for the 2025 season on Black Lake is six lake sturgeon. Officials will close the season when one of two scenarios occurs:

The sixth fish is harvested.
Five fish have been harvested at the end of any fishing day.
Fishing hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day of the season. The season will end either at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5, or when one of the above scenarios is met, at which point anglers will be notified via text message and on the ice by DNR personnel that they must immediately stop fishing for lake sturgeon.

Anyone who wants to participate this year must register online by Jan. 31. Get more registration and season information at Michigan.gov/Sturgeon. Read more

Every year, the Department of Natural Resources stocks fish in Michigan waters to provide fishing opportunities and maintain healthy ecosystems. Where do these stocked fish come from? It all starts with collecting fish eggs, and the DNR has been working hard this fall gathering the necessary eggs to produce fish for stocking. Fall egg collections have been completed for wild Chinook and coho salmon and for captive broodstocks of brown, brook and lake trout, and rainbow trout egg collection will soon begin.

Chinook salmon eggs were collected Oct. 1–16 at the Little Manistee River Weir. Eggs and milt (sperm) are gathered from fish during the annual salmon run. At the weir, salmon swim up a fish ladder and into holding ponds. From there, fish are brought into the facility, where eggs and milt are collected and the eggs are fertilized.

“We experienced a solid run of wild Chinook salmon this year,” said Aaron Switzer, Fish Production Program manager. “The run at the Little Manistee was healthy enough to provide all of Michigan’s egg needs. We were also able to provide eggs to Indiana and Illinois state-owned fish hatcheries. Once hatched, reared and stocked all of these Chinook salmon contribute to the Lake Michigan salmon fishery.”

Coho salmon eggs were collected at the Platte River State Fish Hatchery Weir from Oct. 15 to Nov. 1.

“We collected nearly 6.5 million coho salmon eggs at the Platte River weir by the time the egg collection wrapped up. Read more

When the eggnog is finished and the last of the holiday feasts are over, many live Christmas trees are destined to sit next to the road until the sanitation department picks them up. Instead of tossing your festive fir to the curb on Dec. 26, donate it to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Habitat for the Holidays program.

AGFC biologists throughout the state have designated special Christmas tree donation locations where you can deliver your tree so it can be used as fish habitat in local lakes.

The drop-off locations act just like a “take-a-penny, leave-a-penny tray” at a cashier’s station, only it’s for fish. Anyone who wants to drop off their natural Christmas tree can take it to a location and leave it. Any angler who wants to take the trees and sink them can do so throughout January. After that, AGFC staff will take the remainder of the trees and freshen up some of the existing fishing hotspots found on the AGFC interactive map.

Anglers should bring their own rope and weights to sink the trees. Paracord works well to bind trees together and attach the weight (sandbags and cinder blocks are most commonly used).

Christmas trees are relatively short-term habitat because they don’t have much thick woody material, but they can be gathered in clusters easily and sunk in large groups. The main stems will last longer than the wispy branches and continue to draw fish throughout the year. Many anglers use these Christmas trees to freshen up productive attractor sites every year, with the main trunks offering long-lasting cover and the branches of the new brush.

While skiing and snowboarding are often what first comes to mind when people think of outdoor recreation during the winter, ice fishing is another great activity for the coldest months of the year. If you are planning to go ice fishing this winter, here are a few things you should know. Read more