Fishing licenses now for sale

The new Michigan fishing license and regulation season begins Wednesday, April 1. The 2026 fishing licenses are available for purchase now and are valid through March 31, 2027.

All anglers ages 17 and older are required to purchase a fishing license to fish public waters in Michigan; these licenses are good for all species, though additional reporting requirements apply to some species and fishing methods. Anglers can purchase:

• An annual fishing license at $26 for Michigan residents or $76 for nonresidents (both carry an additional $1 surcharge).
• A senior annual fishing license at $11 for Michigan residents 65 and older or residents who are legally blind (with additional $1 surcharge).
• A daily fishing license at $10 per day for Michigan residents and nonresidents 17 and older (valid for 24 hours).
• An optional youth fishing license, which is available at just $2 for anglers ages 16 and younger.

Fishing licenses can be purchased at Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses or by downloading the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app and purchasing through the app. Make future online fishing license purchases even more convenient by selecting auto-renew at online checkout or in the Auto Renewals section of the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app to automatically buy future licenses as they become available.

2026 fishing seasons

• The statewide trout opener and the Lower Peninsula inland walleye and northern pike seasons open Saturday, April 25.
• In Upper Peninsula waters, the walleye and northern pike seasons open Friday, May 15.
• Michigan’s muskellunge possession season on all Great Lakes, inland waters, the St. Marys River, Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair and Detroit rivers opens Saturday, June 6. (Remember that catch-and-release fishing for muskellunge is open all year.)
• The catch-and-immediate-release season for largemouth and smallmouth bass is open all year on nearly all waters (unless otherwise closed to fishing — check the current Michigan Fishing Regulations for specifics).
• The possession season for bass opens statewide Saturday, May 23, except for Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair and Detroit rivers, which open Saturday, June 20.

The 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations are available online, along with other helpful resources, including fishing locations, “how-to” tips and species identification. Visit the DNR website at Michigan.gov/Fishing to access these resources and the most up-to-date information. For fishing license questions, contact DNR licensing staff at MDNR-E-License@Michigan.gov or call 517-284-6057.

_______________________________

Please Support Local News and Sports Coverage

Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. Your contribution will help us to continue to provide you with free local news. 

To sign up, email editor@mediagroup31.com. In the subject line write: Subscription. Please supply your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number (indicate cell phone). We will not share your information with any outside sources. For more than one email address in a household, the cost is $15 per month per email address.

We can send you an invoice for a yearly payment of $120, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454 (please include your email address).

Payment must be made in advance prior to subscription activation.

We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.

_____

This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2026, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.