Michigan Atlantic Sturgeon Fishing Season Lasts 65 Minutes

DETROIT — Michigan’s shortest fishing season lasted 65 minutes on Saturday.

The 2023 Lake Sturgeon fishing season on Black Lake in Cheboygan County began at 8 a.m. and ended at 9:05 a.m.

The harvest limit for the season was six lake sturgeon. Authorities close the season either when the sixth fish is harvested or when five fish have been harvested at the end of a fishing day.

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Last year, the season ended after 36 minutes.

The largest fish caught in 2022 was a 62-inch male that weighed 67 pounds.

According to the DNR, the DNR and several entities have worked to rehabilitate Michigan’s lake sturgeon populations after their dramatic decline since the 1800s due to habitat loss and degradation and overfishing.

“Lake sturgeon rehabilitation efforts at Black Lake over the past two decades have been a successful collaboration between Michigan DNR, Sturgeon for Tomorrow, tribal agencies, Michigan State University, and Tower-Kleber Limited Partnership,” according to the DNR. “This population has increased over the past 20 years due to breeding and restocking efforts, research and protection of breeding adults, and this trend is expected to continue.”