The 2025 lake sturgeon fishing season on Black Lake in Cheboygan County, Michigan, will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. All anglers must register online to participate in the season. | Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Anglers looking to land one of the six lake sturgeon cleared for harvest on Black Lake should mark their calendars for Feb. 1, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
In a Thursday announcement, the DNR laid out the details for the 2025 sturgeon season on Black Lake in Cheboygan County, marking a return of the short-lived season after the 2024 season was canceled due to concerns that marginal ice conditions and depleting ice on Black Lake would lead to an excessive harvest of the fish.
Lake sturgeon are one of the oldest species in the Great Lakes. Due to habitat loss and overfishing, the species was previously considered threatened, however the DNR has partnered with Sturgeon for Tomorrow, Michigan State University, Tower-Kleber Limited partnership, the Bay Mills Indian Community, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians over the last 20 years to rehabilitate lake sturgeon populations in Black Lake, with the DNR continuing to closely regulate sportfishing of the species.
The opportunity to catch one of the limited numbers of sturgeon available for harvest has made Black Lake’s sturgeon season into a yearly event, with 630 people registering for the 2023 season, which lasted a little over an hour.
In order to participate in the 2025 season, anglers must register with the DNR online by Jan. 31, and participants 17 and older must have a valid Michigan fishing license. More details about registration can be found at Michigan.gov/Sturgeon.
The season will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1, and will end when the sixth fish is harvested, or five fish have been harvested at the end of any fishing day. If these conditions are not met, the season will end at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb, 5 with fishing hours between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. through the season.
Anglers will be notified of the end of the season by text message, as well as DNR personnel on the ice, and must immediately stop fishing for lake sturgeon.
Each individual angler is limited to one sturgeon per year. Anyone who harvests a lake sturgeon must immediately contact DNR personnel on the ice. Each fish harvested will be officially registered at a DNR trailer located on or near the ice at the end of Zollner Road in the northwest part of Black Lake. The registration process may include examining the fish’s internal organs and removing a piece of fin tissue for DNA analysis or aging.
Anglers participating in lake sturgeon season on Black Lake must also bring their own bright red flags — which must be one foot in diameter or larger — to hang on their fishing shanties. At least one flag must be displayed in a highly visible location on the shanty so the DNR can identify which anglers are fishing for sturgeon.
The DNR also notes that ice conditions can vary, and urges extreme caution while ice fishing. While the Black Lake sturgeon season will not be postponed due to weather or other conditions, the season may be canceled up to 48 hours prior to the start of the season if there is a significant safety risk to anglers and staff.
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