The new fishing license and regulation season kicks off April 1, so anglers need to be sure they have purchased a new license for the fishing season in order to enjoy Michigan’s great fishing opportunities. The 2025 fishing licenses are valid through March 31, 2026.

Fishing licenses can be purchased at Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses or by downloading the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app and purchasing your license on the app.

All anglers 17 years of age and older are required to have a fishing license.

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Southeast Lower Peninsula

Eastern Saginaw Bay: Warm weather and winds caused ice conditions to deteriorate quickly. Along the east side of the bay inside the islands, yellow perch were caught, with a few limits reported. A couple northern pike were speared within the last week; however, with poor ice conditions, most anglers have put their equipment away for the year. The cuts and rivers were reported to be opening up and anglers will have open water fishing very soon. 

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Southwest Lower Peninsula

No reports available.

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Northeast Lower Peninsula

Tawas: The Tawas pier was still iced in but will soon be fishable. The Tawas River is open; however, docks are not yet in. A few boat anglers started to head out and south towards Alabaster from the river. Shore anglers were fishing Singing Bridge and reported catching steelhead, brown trout, and a couple coho salmon in the surf. The river was reported to have had some ice buildup remaining near the mouth. Upriver was reported to be open, but the water was very dirty. 

Au Gres: The last remaining ice around Au Gres and south was reported to be deteriorating fast. A few ice anglers tried Palmer Road for one last go at the perch, but did not have much luck. The Pine River launch was still iced in, so boat anglers were unable to make it out.

Alpena: Ice still had the harbor and boat launch locked up. Perch anglers have had some success fishing minnows and small jigs with wax worms. The occasional brown trout and Atlantic salmon were also caught. Anglers who were spearing pike reported seeing very few fish.

Thunder Bay River: Steelhead were reported to be showing up more every day. Anglers found success drifting and bottom bouncing with fresh spawn and beads. Small jigs tipped with wax worms were also productive from the 9th Street dam to Mill Island Park. Those casting small spoons and spinners also reported catching a few Atlantic salmon, coho salmon, and brown trout. Productive colors were gold/orange, blue/silver, and green/silver. Smelt fishing in the river has come to an end with the heavy currents making ice unsafe. 

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Northwest Lower Peninsula

Frankfort: The bay and harbor were still iced over; however, it was beginning to break up with the warmer weather. The Elberta pier is not accessible due to a road closure from heavy snow build up. The Frankfort pier was reported to have been ice-covered and slippery, please proceed with caution. Fresh steelhead were reported on the M-22 bridge, the tubes, and Homestead Dam. Anglers reported that these fish were hitting on spawn.

Manistee: Limited access due to icy piers and frozen shorelines kept fishing pressure low. When fishable, a couple steelhead and coho were reported from the south pier and stub pier while using spawn. Steelhead were also reported from Manistee Lake near the Arthur St. access. Please use caution on the piers. 

Ludington: Frozen piers, shorelines and docks made the harbor inaccessible. On the lower stretches of the Pere Marquette River, suckers and a couple steelhead were reported from previous weeks. 

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Upper Peninsula

Marquette: Anglers reported success mostly when fishing for coho salmon from the break wall. As temperatures warm up, fishing should improve. The Chocolay River had a few good reports for coho salmon and brown trout throughout the winter. Steelhead continued to be caught from the Carp River mouth all the way up to the Marquette Mountain area. Night crawlers and spawn have seemed to work best for anglers.

Little Bay de Noc: Ice conditions on the bay have changed dramatically within a week. Runoff has resulted in erosion of the shore ice at many of the lake access points. Although anglers have reported sufficiently thick ice on the main part of the upper bay, please use extreme caution, as the uppermost layer of ice is soft, and conditions are changing day-to-day. Walleye anglers reported fair to good fishing. Set lines with minnows and treble hooks have been productive. Spoons and snap jig-style baits were catching more aggressive, active fish. Yellow perch anglers caught fish in the shallows, as well as out deep on the mud flats.

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Fishing tip: Storing ice-fishing equipment for next season

Here is a checklist of things to do when storing your ice fishing equipment:

• If you have an auger, check for any damage and dry all the blades before storing it. You may want to consult your power auger’s manual to know how to appropriately handle any leftover gas and how to protect the engine.
• Remove batteries from any electronics to prevent any potential damage from leaking batteries.
• Make sure your portable shelter is completely clean and dry before storing. You may want to put some moth balls in it or hang it to keep pests at bay.
• Take a full inventory of your rods, reels and tackle to see what you might need or want for next year. Also remove all bait or line from your hooks and lures for storage and make sure everything is dry.

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This report is intended to give you an idea of what is going on around the state. Updates come from Fisheries staff and conservation officers. With more than 11,000 inland lakes, the Great Lakes and thousands of miles of rivers and streams, not all locations can be listed. However, it is safe to say if a species is being caught in some waters in the area, they are likely being caught in all waters in that section of the state that have that species.