Registered: 02/14/03
Posts: 2563
Loc: Port Huron Michigan
If they are not listed as stocked with trout they are generally open year round as long as they are not a damned up brook that would hold trout. If they hold trout they would close on last day in February and open on the third Saturday of April.
Edited by danny k (12/29/1201:23 PM)
St. Clair River. Port Huron, MI. #1 Prolific Fishery in North America Bar None!
Im sure Encon will clarify but I think as long as it isnt trout waters it is ok. I fish a few small ponds year round on state land. some of the best fishing I have ever had.
As mentioned, as long as they are not stocked and there are no signs posting that the area is closed it's state waters and statewide regulations apply.
As mentioned, as long as they are not stocked and there are no signs posting that the area is closed it's state waters and statewide regulations apply.
read this very carefully.... i was fooled into thinking what Skip has stated meant something else, but i was incorrect and upon further review i figured out where i went wrong.
the rule is, and by all means please correct me if i am wrong: all named waters not specifically stated to be OPEN are closed under statewide regulations. this excerpt sheds a bit more light, taken from the anglers guide 2012.
Use this two-step process to determine regulations on a specific waterbody: 1. Check the table on page 12 for the general statewide regulations. (fish species/size/creel limit) 2. Refer to the specific waterbody in the alphabetical listings of Lakes & Ponds (pages 24–33) or Rivers & Streams (pages 36–44) for special site-specific regulations. If no site-specific regulations are listed for a waterbody, statewide regulations apply for seasons, methods, and/or limits. Unless otherwise indicated in the Lakes & Ponds and Rivers & Streams listings: • Lakes and ponds are open year-round. • Rivers & streams are open from 6:00 a.m. on the 3rd Saturday in April through the last day of February (Closed to all fishing from March 1st to 6:00 a.m. on the 3rd Saturday in April
i was fooled in an vaugely unspecified stretch of the housatonic river early last season... and for the previous 6 seasons, annually. a chance encounter with a friendly but somewhat puzzled officer showed me the error of my reasoning this past spring. he was kind enough not to write me a citation, but more so i was straight forward with the man, and explained my confusion. he agreed and mentioned a number of anglers were confused like myself.
the odd part was that i was never in any doubt i was even remotely in the wrong, until we both pulled out anglers guides (which i keep with me just to be safe on things like this!!!), and he showed me the above clause.
Don't try to figure out the Housatonic....it will make your head hurt.
If an area does not have a specific regulation, prohibition or listed season then the statewide regulations for season (if any), creel limit, size, etc. apply.