Fishing is one of the most popular outdoor activities in the Great Lakes region. This post offers an overview of the 2025 fishing season.
Ice fishing is always popular during the winter on the Great Lakes. For the start of 2025, the U.S. National Ice Center (NIC) official seasonal outlook for Great Lakes ice predicts slightly below normal ice conditions on Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie. Near normal ice conditions are predicted for Lake Ontario.
In January, The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced that the agency will host a series of informational meetings in northeast Wisconsin to educate anglers on various fisheries management and habitat topics.
The meetings are part of a spotlight series highlighting various fisheries in Green Bay, the Winnebago System, and inland waters in northeast Wisconsin. Upcoming sessions will be held both in person and virtually. More information on the meetings can be found on the Wisconsin DNR website.
Wisconsin DNR will also host a Free Fishing Weekend January 18-19, 2025. During Free Fishing Weekend, anglers of all ages can wet a line in any Wisconsin waters open to fishing without a fishing license, trout stamp, or salmon stamp. More information on the 2025 Wisconsin Free Fishing Weekend can be found on the Wisconsin DNR website.
The Greater Niagara Fishing Expo will be held Thursday, February 13 through Sunday, February 16, 2025.
The annual event attracts thousands of anglers to the Niagara Falls Convention Center (NFCC) in downtown Niagara Falls, NY.
The expo includes fishing education, over 170 booths of fishing-related exhibitors, and much more. the Greater Niagara Fishing Expo is the largest fishing show in New York State and among the largest in the Great Lakes region.
In February, Michigan Department of Natural Resources reminded anglers that regulations on the targeting and harvest of lake sturgeon are in effect, and that on most waters of the state, fishing for lake sturgeon is prohibited and any lake sturgeon caught must be released immediately.
“We know that encountering a fish as iconic as the lake sturgeon is a memorable moment for most anglers, but even the time you take to snap a photo can be extremely detrimental to the fish’s health and survival,” said Jeffrey Jolley, Southern Lake Huron unit manager with the DNR Fisheries Division. “A prompt release ensures a healthy sturgeon.”
Minnesota anglers will be subject to newly established limits for several species when the new fishing license year begins on March 1. New regulations include daily and possession limits for American eel, yellow bass, whitefish, cisco, and burbot. Details on the new possession limits and other changes can be found in the 2025 Minnesota fishing regulations booklet.
In March, Wisconsin DNR announced that the agency will continue a walleye reward tag study in Green Bay and its major tributaries in 2025, supported by funding from Walleyes for Tomorrow.
In May, an Arctic grayling reintroduction event was held at the Oden State Fish Hatchery Visitor Center in Alanson, Michigan.
During the event, Michigan Department of Natural Resources provided Arctic grayling eggs to the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.
Workers distributed eggs at locations along the North Branch of the Manistee River, the Maple River, and the Boardman-Ottaway River.
In July, construction began on a new sea lamprey barrier and trap at the Little Manistee River Weir and egg take facility in Manistee County, Michigan. The barrier will be designed and constructed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in coordination with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The Little Manistee River Weir is the only steelhead egg-take operation in Michigan and the primary egg-take facility for Chinook salmon in the state.
The June 2025 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) Lake Erie Angler Survey Update contained encouraging news about fishing. In June, New York anglers caught 6 walleye per boat trip, one of the best catch rates in the last 20 years. Black bass and yellow perch catch rates also ranked in top five in the last 20 years.
In August, NYDEC announced that the final report of the 2025 Lake Ontario Spring Preyfish Assessment is available on the Great Lakes Fishery Commission website. The assessment provides vital data that fisheries managers take into account when adjusting hatchery salmon stocking levels. Alewife are the main prey in Lake Ontario and support a multi-million dollar sport fishery.
2025 Lake Ontario Spring Preyfish Assessment findings:
- A very large year class of alewife produced in 2024 (measured as age-1 fish in 2025).
- Adult alewife biomass decreased slightly from last year.
- Adult alewife biomass is predicted to increase in 2026 due to the large number of age-1 alewife present in 2025.
In October, Channel Island Reef was completed in Saginaw Bay (Lake Huron). The 2.5-acre reef is approximately 570 feet long and 190 feet wide.
The structure consists of approximately 20,000 tons of natural limestone cobble to form a long, narrow rock mound. It rises approximately 3-4 feet above the existing lake bottom and sits at least 5.5 feet below the water’s surface.
Channel Island Reef is located approximately 0.5 miles east of Channel Island, 2 miles from the mouth of the Saginaw River (coordinates: 43° 40.07289’ N, 83° 48.15168’ W), according to Michigan Sea Grant.
In November, The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced the completion of an experimental aquatic habitat reclamation project on Brocton Shoal in Lake Erie. The project utilized a groundbreaking high-velocity jetting method to clean and restore historical spawning habitat for lake trout.
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