Lake winter season
By Mike Scott
When winter settles over Oakland County, its hundreds of inland lakes become a destination for anglers willing to trade open water for a layer of ice. But successful ice fishing is about more than finding fish beneath the frozen surface. A safe and rewarding day on the ice begins with preparation, from understanding Michigan’s fishing regulations and choosing the right gear to monitoring ice conditions and preparing for emergencies.
Michigan's fishing regulations are updated annually in the Michigan Fishing Regulations booklet, available by searching the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) website at michigan.gov/dnr. The booklet is more commonly known as the state’s fishing guide. It lays out the rules governing where, when, and how Michigan anglers can fish.
The publication includes everything from fishing/license requirements and general regulations to species-specific limits, minimum sizes, seasons, special regulations, and county-by-county exceptions. Anglers can access the current guide online through the Michigan DNR website or through the DNR hunt fish app. It is published each year by April 1 to align with the period when an annual license is valid (April 1 to March 31).
Anglers should check the regulations before they cast into the ice. Rules can vary from one species or waterbody to another, and the regulations are updated for each new fishing year. The DNR recommends anglers use the current guide alongside its online fishing maps and other resources.
A fishing license in Michigan is universal for any type, including ice fishing, said Kyle Ratliff, manager of The Bait Shop in Waterford. Fishing licenses are good for 12 months from April 1 through March 31, and cost $26. Daily fishing licenses may be purchased for $10. The DNR usually hosts two annual free fishing weekends in February and June when a license is not required. This winter’s free weekend is February 13-14, the Saturday and Sunday of President’s Day weekend, according to the Michigan DNR website.
A license holder may fish in any public body of water with it, but it goes deeper than that. They can specifically fish within waters of the state, which is mainly defined by any body of water with both inflow and outflow, said Cleyo Harris, a fisheries biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. That includes anywhere on the water in both private and public lakes with inflow from the waterbody and inflow into it from other water sources.
“You still need a license to fish in these (areas), but any organism in these lakes is the property of the state of Michigan,” Harris said.
The “waters of the state” designation, which includes lakes and rivers, does not give anglers the right to fish off someone’s private property without approval, Harris said. In other words, if an angler is standing on private land, fishing in a public lake, they may be trespassing. But ice fishing from a shack in the middle of a lake, even near publicly owned shoreline, is allowed. Ponds often don’t have inflows and outflows and thus would not be subject to this rule even in the winter. Anglers would have to access water from a public space, launch point or with approval from a private landowner.
Many inland lakes and rivers have a Michigan Department of Natural Resources launch point that allows such access in the winter, Harris added. “It really comes down to how you access the water,” Harris said.
Local ordinances may, in rare cases, shift this narrative. Tommys Lake is owned by Orion Township, which at times required anglers to practice catch and release. Outside of local ordinances, anglers should follow current Michigan DNR fishing regulations for applicable species-specific seasons, size limits, and harvest restrictions
“In my experience it’s pretty rare, but you will want to check any (local rules) for that lake or (municipality),” Harris said.
For boaters and anglers, Michigan’s network of public launches is extensive. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources currently administers 1,045 public boating access sites statewide, providing access to the Great Lakes as well as inland lakes and rivers. The DNR does not publish a separate statewide total for inland water launches, but its current list identifies 15 DNR boating access sites in Oakland County, all serving inland lakes. Those include launches on Orchard Lake, Union Lake, Lake Orion and more.
Ice fishing is a popular winter activity in Michigan. Fishing licenses in general rose dramatically in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID pandemic. Michigan's fishing-license numbers show a noticeable pandemic-era bump in participation. According to the Michigan DNR, roughly 1.1 million people purchased fishing licenses in 2015, with the number generally hovering around the one million mark during the following years.
That changed dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fishing license purchases surged in 2020, reaching roughly 1.5 million and representing the highest level of the past decade, according to DNR data. The increase was part of a broader pandemic-driven boom in outdoor recreation as Michiganders looked for activities that could be enjoyed outside and with social distancing. Interest remained elevated in 2021, when about 1.13 million people had purchased fishing licenses through November.
“Oakland County lakes get heavily fished,” said Pat Larsen, a long-time member of the Oakland County Sportsmen’s Club in Clarkston and a former president of the organization’s fishing club. Larsen lived in Clarkston for many years before moving to near Bay City late last year. “You can find a lot of good ice fishing spots in lakes around here.”
Larsen, who quit ice fishing in his late 60s five years ago, has years of experience ice fishing in several northern Oakland County lakes including Maceday, Lotus, Scott, Lake Oakland and more.
By 2025, about 1.2 million people were purchasing fishing licenses annually, 5.8 percent more than in 2015. Michigan DNR officials have said it is difficult to attribute all of the long-term increase to one factor, but the pandemic appears to have introduced a significant number of new people to fishing, some of whom have continued the activity.
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When we do have good (ice fishing weather) we get a lot of anglers,” said Harris, who pointed out that the DNR does not have data on how many anglers specifically ice fish. “It seems like we have leveled out (with fishing licenses) after the COVID bump the last few years, but it’s still pretty consistent.”
Oakland County anglers have plenty of panfish to pursue, even beneath the winter ice. Bluegill, pumpkinseed, black crappie, white crappie, yellow perch, and rock bass are among the county’s familiar panfish. The Michigan DNR lists bluegill in waters ranging from Cass and Crescent Lakes to Maceday and Pontiac lakes, while crappie are found in lakes including Cass, Kent, Lakeville, Long, Pontiac, Sylvan, and Union.
Yellow perch also inhabits several Oakland County waters, including Cass and Union lakes. These smaller fish are an important part of the food web, providing prey for larger species such as northern pike and largemouth bass.
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Mostly around here you find a lot of panfish,” Larsen said. “It’s a lot of bluegill, occasional perch. I’ve caught some rare pike or walleye. And crappies, of course.”
However, other species may have state-mandated limitations. This includes largemouth bass, whose harvest season ends in December, Harris said. There are other restrictions as well, such as the limitation of spearing to catch certain species in Lake St. Clair and some statewide inland lakes.
“Harvesting is not legal in the winter, but you can still catch and release (largemouth bass),” Harris said. “But we try to give anglers lots of access.” Such guidelines are also outlined in the Michigan Fishing Regulations guide.
“You can catch some bass as well, but you have to release those (according to the state’s fishing regulations),” Larsen confirmed.
The Michigan DNR has stocked Maceday Lake in Waterford Township with a significant amount of lake trout, Harris said. Its environmental structure allows the lake to supply a plethora of oxygen and is a “good cold-water lake” for species, he added, such as crappie and bluegill.
The type of bait used by ice fishing enthusiasts varies a bit from warm-weather fishing. Lax worms and spikes are commonly used to catch panfish such as bluegill, black crappie, yellow perch, pumpkinseed sunfish, and rock bass. These species are found in numerous inland lakes throughout the county and are among the fish commonly targeted by ice anglers.
Various types of minnows are more common for game fish such as walleye and pike. The fish tend to bite under the ice at around the same times of the day as during warm weather.
“The times don’t change much,” Ratliff said. “Many (anglers) like to go out in the evening for crappie or walleye, but first thing in the morning is good too. Those are the two main active times. Midday is generally going to be slower for (getting bites), but there are a lot of variables.”
Ice anglers use different types of rods given they can’t cast lines of seven to nine feet as they would in the summer, said Brian Seiferlein, owner of Walleye King near Saginaw Bay, a business that offers guided fishing tours and lodging. Seiferlein lived in Waterford for many years.
Instead of casting, ice anglers typically use short rods or specialized ice-fishing rods. These are paired with small spinning reels or, for some presentations, simple inline reels. The shorter rod is easier to manage inside a shelter or around an ice hole. Seiferlein prefers to use rods that are 26 to 28 inches long when ice fishing, but his focus is on larger fish, such as walleye and perch in Saginaw Bay. Inland lake anglers may use a slightly longer pole of around 32 inches.
“For me, having a shorter pole allows more control over the fish when you get (a bite),” Seiferlein said. “If that fish you catch hits the bottom of the ice, it will get knocked off the hook.”
The slightly longer ice fishing rods of 32 inches or more provide more sensitivity for panfish and bluegill, he said, because anglers may not know when they have a bite from a smaller species. “You know when you have a walleye bite, but panfish is harder to be sure of,” he said.
Inland lakes remain active even under a sheet of winter ice. Microscopic organisms continue to fuel an underwater ecosystem in the winter, according to the DNR. When enough sunlight penetrates clear ice, phytoplankton can continue photosynthesis, providing the foundation for a food web that supports everything from tiny zooplankton to game fish such as perch and northern pike.
The winter food chain is similar to what exists in warm weather. But everything operates more slowly in the winter. Sunlight supports different types of plankton, which in turn are consumed by minnows and other small fish. Larger predators like perch, walleye, and pike continue hunting smaller fish beneath the ice. Cold water slows a fish's metabolism, meaning it requires less food and expends less energy chasing prey, but it still must eat to survive. The DNR notes that fish remain active throughout winter, even if their feeding patterns become less aggressive.
Cold weather also brings the challenge of winterkill. Prolonged ice and snow cover can dramatically reduce oxygen levels in a lake. Ice seals the water from absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere, while thick snow blocks sunlight needed by aquatic plants and algae to produce oxygen through photosynthesis. As oxygen declines, fish can experience significant stress or die, particularly in shallow lakes, ponds, canals, and slow-moving streams where oxygen is already limited.
The DNR reported on its website in March 2026 that winterkill is the most common type of fish mortality event in Michigan. Water bodies with abundant aquatic vegetation and soft, organic lake bottoms are especially vulnerable because decomposing plant material continues consuming oxygen throughout the winter.
Many anglers will set up a permanent or portable ice shack or shanty on the water when the ice is thick enough for safe activities. The DNR says clear ice with a bluish tint is strongest, while milky ice formed from melted and refrozen snow is weaker. A minimum of five to seven inches of ice is recommended by the DNR, although thicker ice is even better.
Heated shacks allow anglers to fish for longer periods of time, including overnight or early in the morning. Anglers often store an array of equipment in their permanent shacks, which are sturdier structures that can be left overnight for days or weeks, assuming other laws are followed.
One such Michigan law requires permanent shacks to have some sort of personal identification on them, listing the name of the owner and contact information. Under MCL 324.46502(1), anyone placing or using a fishing shanty on Michigan waters must affix owner-identification information to each side of the outside of the shanty. The information also must be legible and at least two inches high, be readily visible, be made of material that is not soluble in water and be permanently affixed directly to the shanty.
Portable, or pop-up shacks do not require such information if they are constructed and taken down the same day, Harris said. However, the state’s fishing rules, outlined in the state’s fishing regulations, also designate midnight on March 15 as the date when all ice shacks in the Lower Peninsula need to be removed from frozen waterbodies.
This date is designed to help lessen potential safety hazards and the chance of a shack falling through the ice if a sudden warm spell were to occur. However, temperatures have often risen enough that ice becomes unstable well before the March 15 deadline. In fact, National Weather Service (NWS) climate data for the Detroit area show normal daytime temperatures climbing from about 40 degrees on March 1 to roughly 45 degrees by March 15 over the last decade.
The first half of March can bring some remarkable temperature swings to Oakland County and southeast Michigan. National Weather Service records show that, since 2010, temperatures during March 1-15 have climbed as high as 77 degrees, recorded March 15, 2012, while freezing conditions have remained possible at the same time of year.
NWS climate records also document a 0-degree low on March 3, 2014, illustrating how quickly conditions can shift during the first two weeks of the month. Long-term records are even more dramatic, with temperatures during March 1-15 ranging from well below zero to the upper 70s.
For ice anglers, that volatility is important. A lake that remains locked in winter during a cold stretch can begin losing ice rapidly when temperatures surge into the 40s to 60s. The Michigan DNR cautions that warming weather can weaken existing ice and that old ice can become particularly unpredictable. In Oakland County, where anglers have hundreds of inland lakes to choose from, the combination of above-freezing afternoons, stronger March sunlight, and increasingly marginal nighttime freezes can turn what appears to be solid late-season ice into an unpredictable surface.
“You want to be careful of many (Oakland County) lakes there are several that have rivers flowing into them, and that can be a dangerous situation,” Larsen said. “It seems to be true for a lot of lakes around here.”
Anglers need to pay close attention to the weather and ice thickness if they ice fish, and particularly if they have permanent shacks on a lake, Harris said. There are instances when an ice shack that falls through the ice could cause some type of environmental problem, such as if a gas tank or other item housed within the shack also fell through the ice, causing physical harm to the lake or organisms, Harris said.
“You would rarely (get a ticket or fine) for losing a shanty in the water, but in some cases, it could be a littering issue,” Harris said. “The key is you have to keep a close eye on ice conditions.”
There is a significant financial issue with a lost ice shack, Harris said. Anglers often keep an array of equipment in a shack, including but not limited to rods and reels, tackle boxes, fish finders/sonar devices, augers, sleds, gear boxes, comfortable chairs and more. Those losses can reach thousands of dollars.
Seiferlein recommends anglers interested in regular ice fishing consider getting a permanent shack or shanty that is insulated. The cost is higher, but insulated shanties prevent condensation from entering the interior, which can then drip down “like rain.”
“The extra money is worth every penny,” Seiferlein said. “It’s like the difference between analog compared to digital with new technology years ago.”
The appeal of ice fishing is clear. When Oakland County lakes freeze over, fish don’t stop feeding. Instead, the feeding process slows down and follows the food available beneath the ice. Tiny organisms such as phytoplankton and zooplankton remain active, supporting a food chain that includes minnows and other small fish, according to the Michigan DNR.
Yellow perch, which remain active all winter, feed on immature aquatic insects, crayfish, and the eggs and young of other fish. Bluegills also remain active, eating aquatic insects, small fish, and some plant material. Predators such as largemouth bass move near the lake bottom in winter, while northern pike continue hunting perch, sunfish, minnows, and other fish.
The quality of the ice fishing experience varies from one inland lake to the other. One of the biggest considerations is the amount of snowmobile activity on lakes. Cass Lake and White Lake are two Oakland County lakes with active snowmobiling and ORV activities, either planned or recreational, Harris said. That type of activity will discourage experienced anglers from those lakes because of noise pollution, safety concerns, and impact on successful catches.
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There are definitely lakes that have a better (reputation) for ice fishing,” Harris said. “A lot of that can be tied to (snowmobile) recreation.”
Larsen hasn’t had many issues with snowmobiling on Oakland County lakes interfering with his enjoyment over the years. While there is potential for a diverse number of species on Great Lakes-connected waterways like Lake St. Clair and Saginaw Bay, Larsen has found more issues with motorized vehicles on the ice in those larger bodies of water.
However, he knows there are inland lakes in Oakland County with snowmobiling and ORV events in the winter.
“They aren’t much of a problem, but you want to check ahead of time,” Larsen said. He referenced a snowmobiling “drag strip” on Big Lake in Springfield Township as one example. “In my experience, it’s more of a problem elsewhere.”
As previously mentioned, safety is one of the most relevant issues with ice fishing in Michigan. The DNR’s main message is that “no ice is safe ice,” according to Harris. Anglers should always use caution because ice conditions can be highly variable based on the water body, the quick change in temperatures, and the location on a lake or river, Harris said.
For example, areas near the shoreline may have direct inflow or currents. These areas often are the first to melt during periods of warmer temperatures, Harris said. Anglers should be particularly careful in accessing the lake near the shoreline as a result.
The DNR's advice is straightforward. Anglers should never judge ice safety by the calendar or air temperature alone; check the actual ice conditions and remember that no thickness guarantees safety.
Ratliff suggested aspiring ice anglers buy a spud to help gauge ice depth and thickness. Anglers can use a spud, needle bar or ice auger to test ice thickness and quality as they move onto the lake. A tape measure or marked gauge can then be used to determine the actual thickness. The DNR recommends checking the ice yourself rather than relying on reports from other anglers.
Before venturing onto a frozen Oakland County lake, ice anglers should make ice safety equipment as much a part of their gear as their auger and tackle box. The DNR indicates on its website and in printed literature that there is no single ice thickness universally considered safe, as conditions can vary significantly even within the same lake.
“(A spud) is probably the first item that an ice fisher should buy,” Ratliff said. Larsen agreed, saying that “spudding is always a good idea.”
The second critical item is a pair of ice spikes, which can be used by an angler to drag themselves onto ice or dry land if they fall through into the water. For emergencies, ice picks or ice claws should be worn where they are immediately accessible, such as around the neck or in a chest pocket, according to information provided online on “Ice Safety” and ‘Ice Fishing” by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. If an angler breaks through, the picks can be driven into solid ice while the person kicks and pulls toward the surface.
Larsen recommends ice spikes and a rope, which have helped to get ice anglers out of threatening predicaments in the past. Public access sites are generally good places to access, Larsen added. But he cautions anglers to stay away from inlets.
“Before you go on a lake, notice where the other (ice) fishermen are,” Larsen said. “If they’ve done this before, they know where they are going.”
A life jacket or flotation device and a rescue rope are also valuable safety equipment. If a breakthrough occurs, remain calm, turn toward the direction you came from, pull yourself onto the ice, and roll or crawl away from the opening, according to the Michigan DNR.
“You want to go to (a retailer) and make sure you have all the items you need,” Ratliff said. “It can be very rewarding, but you don’t want to miss any items.”
Those items should include any type of warm clothing that may be needed while on the ice. Harris said wind chills can vary significantly from hour to hour, and that no angler wants to get caught on a lake without proper clothing like hats, gloves, scarves, earmuffs, and other winter clothing designed to protect them from harsh conditions.
Even without falling through the ice, anglers can experience a dulling of reaction time if their body temperature falls. This can result in other safety concerns. For this and other reasons, Harris’ most significant recommendation is for anglers to always let at least one other person know exactly where they are ice fishing and for how long.
“You should check in with that (person), so they know you are okay as well,” he said.
The quality and amount of high-tech gear available to ice anglers also support the popularity of the sport. Such gear can help anglers determine exactly when they have a bite under the ice, and the amount of nearby activity.
Electronics matter, Seiferlein said. Different cameras and devices can confirm the presence of fish in a certain area. Cameras are very useful for that, but it can take several minutes to set up, he added. Anglers often “hole hop” in the winter while on the ice and using a camera for each new hole is extremely time-consuming.
“A camera is really good if you know fish are there,” Seiferlein said. “Like any (technology) there are pros and cons. But electronics have really changed the game. Before electronics, we would drill a hole in the ice, drop a line, and hope for the best.”
The best time to ice fish is any time an angler can do it safely, Harris said. He’s been successful ice fishing in the middle of the day. Anglers who follow safety guidelines, let someone know where they are, and can accurately measure ice thickness are generally rewarded with an enjoyable experience.
Oakland County offers plenty of opportunities for ice anglers, with panfish, perch, crappie, and other species available in many local lakes. But as Michigan DNR officials and other experts emphasize, there is no such thing as guaranteed safe ice. Changing temperatures, currents, and varying ice conditions can make winter fishing unpredictable, particularly later in the season.
By checking regulations, testing ice thickness, carrying essential safety equipment, and letting someone know where they are fishing, anglers can enjoy one of Michigan’s favorite winter traditions while reducing the risks of venturing onto frozen water.
