Lakes

• Lakes in southeast Michigan with large fish stocks include Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie and Lake Huron. At 24 miles wide, Lake St. Clair is a small lake by Great Lakes standards but is full of musky, walleye, perch and small-mouth bass, trophy size in the fall. Six miles from Detroit, Lake St. Clair is conveniently located for a quick day trip for fishing while in the area. Lake Erie is the shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes and has a large freshwater commercial fishery. Visitors can expect to find walleye, rainbow smelt, white bass, yellow perch, rainbow trout and brown trout in Lake Erie. Lake Huron is one of the largest of the Great Lakes, at 183 miles wide and 206 miles long. Although Lake Huron suffers from invasive species, fishers still catch chinook salmon, steelhead, walleye, pike and brown trout.
  
  

Rivers

• The Detroit River is an American Heritage River and a Canadian Heritage River, separating Detroit from Windsor, Ontario. The river yields numerous fish, including sturgeon, salmon, steelhead, brown trout, walleye, perch, musky and small-mouth bass, and attracts falcons, eagles and ospreys as well as human fishers. The Huron River runs through six cities in southeast Michigan, including Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, as well as many parks. Its slow current and few rapids make it good for canoeing. The river is full of sunfish, bluegill, rock bass, white bass, small-mouth and large-mouth bass, pike, walleye, catfish, musky and trout.
  
  

Harbors

• Quality harbors are all along Michigan's southeast coastline. Most harbors have radio service, gasoline and diesel, restrooms and showers, launch ramps, public telephones and holding tank pump-out services. Some are close to restaurants and have long-term parking and picnic areas with grills and playgrounds. Many resorts and lodges also are in southeast Michigan for fishing trips and sporting vacations.
  
  

Fishing Licenses

• Everyone over 17 must get a fishing license to fish in Michigan and have it while fishing, as well as the identification used to obtain it. Those under 17 can fish without a license but must follow fishing rules and regulations. There are various fishing licenses in Michigan for residents and non-residents, including a 24 hour license, a license restricted to trout and salmon and a license for all fish species. Licenses are available for purchase online at michigan.gov/dnre and at local hardware stores, grocers, travel centers, gun shops, sporting goods stores and discount stores.
  
  

Fishing Methods and Illegal Actions

• Fishing activities are regulated in Michigan and permitted with license only. Hook-and-line fishing, bow fishing (specific waters and species) and dip nets in non-trout streams for bowfin, carp, gar, smelt and suckers are some fishing methods used in southeast Michigan. Some illegal activities in Michigan include harvesting mayfly larvae for commercial use from June through September and possessing or transporting snakeheads, round gobies or other restrictive, destructive non-native fish species.