• The number of people buying fishing licenses in Michigan has trended up slightly over the last 10 years, but dropped between 2024 and 2025
• The 2026 fishing regulation season starts today, which means anglers will need new licenses
• A handful of notable regulations will take effect this year, including protections for a fish known as ‘freshwater cod,’ a new limit while fishing near two rock reefs and underwater spearfishing expansions

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The number of people buying fishing licenses has trended upward in Michigan. 

According to data from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources 1.2 million customers bought fishing licenses in 2025, up 5.8% percent from 2015, when there were 1.1 million customers.

“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why that might be,” said Lucas Nathan, Aquatic Species and Regulatory Affairs Unit manager for the DNR Fisheries Division. But he said the coronavirus pandemic might have something to do with it.

Looking at the last 10 years, the number of customers buying fishing licenses peaked in 2020, after the pandemic hit. Some of those customers who were lured to fishing when hanging out indoors was risky may still be fishing, accounting for some residually high numbers.

Despite the gradual upward increase in customers, the number of people buying Michigan fishing licenses went down in 2025 by 1.9% compared to the 2024 total.

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Fishing license fees bring in approximately $30 million annually, but Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and some lawmakers want more. 

The state Senate approved legislation last fall that would raise the fees, but that legislation has stalled in the state House. Separately, Whitmer has asked lawmakers to raise the fees as part of the 2027 budget process, but it wasn’t clear if lawmakers would grant that ask. Negotiations on the 2027 budget have just begun.

Today is the first day of 2026 fishing regulations in Michigan, which means anglers will need to have a 2026 fishing license to go out.

James Redmond, of Detroit, caught a pike within minutes Monday after casting out along the Detroit riverfront. The 74-year-old, who’s been fishing since he was a kid, said he thinks more people might be participating in the pastime because of the Detroit River walleye run.

“By May or June, there’s going to be 100 boats out here,” he said. “Ten to 15 years ago, you didn’t see all the boats out here.”

In the Upper Peninsula, at the Bay View Bait & Tackle shop outside Escanaba, shop owner Diane Carlson said the upward trend in people fishing hasn’t meant more customers for her shop. If anything, she said, fewer and fewer people are coming in to buy their licenses there. 

“I get more people telling me that they’ve done it online,” she said.

As for bait and tackle customers, she said it changes day to day. 

“If they’re catching fish, I see more people. If nobody’s catching anything for a while, then they just don’t go out,” she said.

Notable regulation changes for the 2026 fishing season

New burbot protections

Fishing for burbot, sometimes nicknamed “freshwater cod,” is increasing in popularity, the DNR’s Nathan told Bridge. At the same time, there are concerns the coldwater species may be impacted by warming water. For those reasons, there’s a new statewide daily possession limit for burbot of five fish per day. 

Additionally, there had been an opportunity to apply for a permit to use hoop nets to catch burbot in the winter on the Au Train, Sturgeon and Peshekee rivers in the Upper Peninsula. Nathan said there were some concerns that, due to the timing of that opportunity, it could pose some risks to spawning burbot, so it’s no longer available.

New limits at Stannard Rock and Big Reef

Stannard Rock and Big Reef are underwater rock formations in Lake Superior. Stannard Rock is located north of Marquette and Big Reef is located northwest of Newberry.

‘They’re destination fisheries for catching some really big lake trout,” said Nathan.

To try to protect the lake trout in those areas, there is a new daily limit of one lake trout or splake. 

“The target there is really lake trout but the way we manage lake trout and splake, it’s a combined limit,” Nathan said.

Walleye limits on Teal and Independence lakes

There are new limits for walleye caught in Teal and Independence lakes in the UP. Walleye caught in those lakes between 18 to 23 inches long will need to be released. Walleye between 15 inches and 17 inches or larger than 23 inches are OK, but there is a daily possession limit of five and only one walleye can be bigger than 23 inches. 

According to Nathan, walleye have been seeing some declines in their ability to naturally grow their population in those lakes and some other areas of the state. The hope is that by protecting the 18- to 23-inch fish, the number of fish that can reproduce will increase and the walleye population will become more self-sustaining.

Teal and Independence lakes were picked in part because the DNR has information on the current population so it can measure changes after the regulation’s implementation.

Underwater spearfishing

Since 2022, people who spearfish underwater have been allowed to go after three kinds of gamefish — lake trout, northern pike and walleye — but only in limited areas of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Underwater spearfishing participants argued that wasn’t fair because they buy the same fishing license as hook-and-line anglers.

In November, the Natural Resources Commission voted that, starting in the 2026 season, underwater spearfishers can go after lake trout, northern pike and walleye in additional waters: parts of Lake Erie and Lake Superior and expanded portions of Lake Michigan.

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