Hundreds of anglers are preparing to head to Black Lake early next month for the annual sturgeon season, with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources announcing a start date of Feb. 7.
Michigan's shortest fishing season, people will be able to fish for four days or until six fish have been harvested, which ever comes first. Last year's season lasted a record-breaking 17 minutes.
Lake sturgeon have been a threatened species in Michigan since 1994, with multiple groups looking to restore the species for the last few decades.
One of those groups is Sturgeon for Tomorrow, with the Black Lake chapter working with the DNR to hold the annual fishing event.
Sturgeon for Tomorrow's president, Jay Woiderski, says Black Lake's sturgeon count has gone from 500 in 1997 to nearly 1,200 adults today.
"Poaching took a big part of the fish out of the system. So it got to the point that the DNR wanted to shut the season down totally, and that's when we got involved, went to Lansing and said, what can we do to make this not go away?" Woiderski said.
The season used be run through a lottery system. Today anyone can participate as long as they have a Michigan fishing license.
According to Woiderski, around 500 people showed up in 2025.
"When you have almost 500 people sitting out on the ice vying for the opportunity to take one of six fish, it's pretty intense to be sitting there waiting for that opportunity for that short a time," he explained.
It is illegal to harvest lake sturgeon out of Black Lake outside of the official season, with people required to return any caught back into the water. In areas with open fishing, people are only allowed to harvest one sturgeon annually.
"Never pick the fish up by its head and stand it straight up. Always handle it horizontally," Woidesrki said about accidentally catching one. "Get your quick picture and release it as fast as you can. Don't leave it out of the water any longer than you have to."
People will be allowed to begin fishing at 8 a.m. on Feb. 7.
We note the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is a sponsor of WCMU. We report on them as we do with any other organization.
