Michigan Mixed Bag: State’s fishing seasons underway – or soon to be

Lansing — Michigan’s trout and Lower Peninsula inland walleye and northern pike seasons opened in late April, but a hots of other seasons are coming online soon – in Upper Peninsula waters, the walleye and northern pike possession seasons open May 15, which falls on a Friday this year.

Michigan’s muskie possession season on all Great Lakes, inland waters, the St. Marys River, Lake St. Clair, and the St. Clair and Detroit rivers opens June 6 (catch-and-immediate-release fishing for muskellunge is open all year).

The possession season for bass opens statewide May 23, except for on Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River and the Detroit River, which open June 20.

An important reminder from DNR: Michigan’s catch-and-immediate-release season for largemouth and smallmouth bass is open all year on nearly all waters, unless otherwise closed to fishing – check the current Michigan Fishing Regulations for specifics.

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Ralph Loos: Incidents, accidents part of managing fish

Changes to Michigan’s elk season in play, including fewer tags

Michigan Interactive Fishing Maps Available

Lansing — Michigan anglers were reminded that DNR has a new, interactive map that highlights fishing regulations in effect on state waterways.

Ahead of fishing season openers, DNR introduced its interactive Inland Trout and Salmon Regulations map, which shows regulations in effect by color-coding waterways. Anglers can zoom in to see rules for any waterway in the state.

The map is available online at Michigan.gov/FishingMaps or in the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app.

Invasive Balsam Woolly Adelgid Detected

Lansing —Balsam woolly adelgid, a tiny, sap-feeding insect that attacks true fir trees, has been detected at the Backus Creek State Game Area in Roscommon County. DNR and the Michigan Departments of Agriculture have been managing isolated balsam woolly adelgid infestations in Clare, Missaukee and Oceana counties since 2023. A small infestation found in Kent County in 2021 is believed to be eradicated.

In Michigan, balsam woolly adelgid can infest species in the fir genus including balsam, Fraser and concolor (white) fir. The insect cannot feed on other trees or plants. The pest is on Michigan’s Invasive Species Watch List because persistent infestation weakens trees, kills branches and slowly causes trees to decline or die.

DNR manages the 4,378-acre Backus Creek SGA, located east of Houghton Lake for forestry and wildlife including waterfowl, upland game birds and deer, and the area is widely used by hunters. Signs of a potential infestation were noted by a DNR forest technician in early March while conducting initial preparations for a prescribed harvest planned for 2028 to 2030. An insect sample was sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, then forwarded to Smithsonian Institution’s Natural History Museum, which provided final verification in late March.