DNR seeks public review of Michigan’s muskellunge regulations

For Immediate Release
March 26, 2012

Contact: Kregg Smith, 269-685-6851 or Ed Golder, 517-335-3014

DNR invites public review of Michigan’s muskellunge regulations

The Department of Natural Resources’ Fisheries Division is asking for public input on the management of muskellunge in Michigan by reviewing some proposed regulations.

Over the past year, Fisheries Division has been working with the Warmwater Resources Committee, a public advisory group, to discuss muskellunge regulations and to review muskellunge regulation proposals submitted by angling organizations. As a result, several regulation options have been developed. The regulation options are a compromise agreed upon between Fisheries Division and the Warmwater Resources Committee.

Public review is being sought to determine which regulation anglers think should be accepted to manage muskellunge populations in Michigan. Four regulation options have been proposed with a combination of season, size limit and possession limits: 

1. Maintain the current fishing regulations for muskellunge.
2. Change the harvest season and allow for a few waters currently managed with the 42-inch minimum size limit to be managed with either a lower or higher minimum size limit.
3. Change the harvest season, reduce the possession limit to one (1) fish per season (with a harvest tag), and allow for a few waters currently managed with the 42-inch minimum size limit to be managed with either a lower or higher size limit.
4. Change the harvest season, keep the possession limit the same, and increase the minimum size limit for most waters, but allow for a few waters to be managed with a lower size limit.

The public is being asked to review these regulation options through an online survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MuskellungeFishingRegulations. You can also take the survey over the telephone by calling Debbie Robinson at the Plainwell Operations Service Center at (269) 685-6851. The online and telephone surveys will close on Friday, May 25.

To read more about the muskellunge regulation review, please visit www.michigan.gov/fishing.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.