The Detroit River Fishery

by | March 31, 2023 | Current Issue | 0 Comments

For my money, there’s no better place to fish for walleyes this time of year, anywhere, than the Detroit River. It’s no secret. I swear, at times you could almost walk across the river going boat to boat and never get your feet wet. There’s a reason: The river is full...
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The pain of loss for a 15-year-old eased with a special elk hunt

by | March 31, 2023 | Current Issue | 0 Comments

It is said the chance of getting drawn for an elk hunting permit in Michigan is .01-.06%. What are the odds that a teenager could be the recipient of a bull-elk permit and then fill that tag with an amazing 5 x 5 bull? Couple that with the recent loss of his beautiful...
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Wake-Up Call

by | March 31, 2023 | Current Issue | 0 Comments

As I turned onto the gravel road, an entire flock of turkeys jaywalked in front of me to the opposite side, where a large stand of mature white pines covered the landscape. It was late winter, so the flock consisted of a mixed bag of jakes, longbeards, and hens. There...
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Tricks for Opening Day

by | March 31, 2023 | Current Issue | 0 Comments

The weather on the last Saturday in April can be fickle. You might be blessed with a glorious sunshiny day and temperatures in the 60s or more. Or it could be spitting snow or sleet with temperatures below freezing. That’s just the way April is in Michigan. Chances...
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Randy Claramunt named Fisheries Chief

by | March 31, 2023 | Current Issue | 0 Comments

On February 22, acting DNR Director Shannon Lott announced the appointment of Randy Claramunt as the new Chief of the Fisheries Division, one of Michigan’s most important natural resource positions. He will fill the position vacated by long-term fisheries chief Jim...
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RECENT EDITIONS

Michigan’s inland cisco fisheries

Michigan’s inland cisco fisheries

by | Mar 1, 2023 |

Michigan is blessed with at least 153 lakes around the state where native cisco can be found. Cisco, a member of the whitefish subfamily of trout/salmon, are often called lake herring in the Great Lakes, according to a research summary by Carl Latta, MDNR Research...

Saginaw River Walleyes 2023

Saginaw River Walleyes 2023

by | Mar 1, 2023 |

This year will mark the first time anglers have been able to fish the Saginaw River for walleye between March 15 and the last Saturday in April since the system’s walleye began their historic comeback. In past years, anglers got a taste of the potential when ice...

Go hard baits for CRAPPIES

Go hard baits for CRAPPIES

by | Feb 1, 2023 |

Plastics are a go-to bait for winter crappies because crappies feed mainly on minnows. Friends who fish the NAIF ice-fishing circuit tell me when they know specks are the likely target, plastics are on the end of their lines. But there are times when a change in baits...

WASHTENAW COUNTY’S 22-POINT, 200-INCH BUCK

WASHTENAW COUNTY’S 22-POINT, 200-INCH BUCK

by | Feb 1, 2023 |

Patrick Conklin had a rifle deer season opener that he will never forget and probably never best. Patrick leases an old horse farm in Washtenaw County. On November 15, he decided to hunt a stand where his son had seen a rather nice 10-pointer. This stand can only be...

Gear up for walleyes

Gear up for walleyes

by | Feb 1, 2023 |

There are nearly as many ways to catch walleyes as there are walleyes (millions of them), but the first step in being successful when targeting walleyes beneath the ice is the same as the first step in open-water fishing – having the right gear. Possessing appropriate...

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