Walleye limits change between Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay

A boat that runs out of the Detroit River into Lake Erie keeps its walleye limit and changes three rules: the yellow perch limit, the northern pike limit and the muskellunge possession season. Trailer the same boat to Saginaw Bay and the walleye limit and minimum size change too. The table below has the numbers, from the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations, in force April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, and, for the walleye limit on the St. Clair system and Lake Erie, from the DNR’s fishing regulations page, read Oct. 30, 2026.

The DNR’s weekly fishing report is “temporarily suspended after Nov. 4,” and no page read for this guide states where fish are, what the water temperature is or which ramps are open.

One license, Michigan’s limits

Statewide, the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations say: “If you are 17 years of age or older and fish in Michigan, you must purchase a fishing license.” On waters bordered by another state or a province, the booklet (pp. 9 and 11) says: “A person fishing waters bordered by other states or provinces AND possessing multiple fishing licenses may possess the limit allowed for ONLY ONE license while in transit.” It also says: “When fishing in Michigan waters, Michigan possession and size limits must be followed.”

Statewide, the booklet allows “No more than 3 lines per person (including tip-ups)” (p. 10); the DNR’s walleye table lists “Three rods per angler” on the St. Clair system and Lake Erie. A person may also possess two more daily limits from previous days if the fish are processed (canned, cured by smoking or drying, or frozen), which the booklet says excludes muskellunge (pp. 8 and 9).

In Ontario waters, Ontario’s rules apply as Ontario states them. Its Fishing Regulations Summary, in the licence chapter updated Aug. 4, 2026, says: “Most non-Canadian residents require an Outdoors Card and recreational fishing licence to fish in Ontario.” The summary’s Zone 19 chapter places the Ontario waters of the Detroit River and St. Clair River in that zone. The summary names Michigan nowhere and draws no line; its one boundary-waters sentence is general: “Anglers who fish in waters that lie both in Ontario and another province or state must include the total number of fish caught anywhere in those waters as part of the number caught and kept or possessed under the Ontario recreational fishing regulations when bringing those fish into Ontario.” Fisheries Order 242, titled “Lake St. Clair – Detroit River Boundary,” was not read for this piece. It is the order that defines the line, and the DNR’s Fisheries Orders page, read Oct. 31, 2026, lists it. This story does not say where the line runs.

The limits, water by water

The table gives Michigan’s limits as the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations (pp. 12 to 14) and Fisheries Order 215.23A state them, in force to March 31, 2027. The walleye number for the St. Clair system and Lake Erie rests on the DNR’s page, which says those limits “are updated each year on May 1 and run through the following April.”

Every walleye, perch and pike season in the table is open all year on the Great Lakes waters named. The lower Saginaw River is an inland water (booklet p. 6: inland waters include “all inland lakes, streams and tributaries to the Great Lakes”), where the pike season runs from the last Saturday in April to March 15 (p. 12). Muskellunge possession opens the first Saturday in June; the minimum is 42 inches, one per angler per license year.

Where the Detroit River ends matters for the perch and pike limits. The booklet’s general description of the connecting waters (p. 6) has the river ending at “the imaginary east-west line drawn through the most southerly point of Celeron Island.” That is the booklet’s own description, not a line Fisheries Order 215 draws for its perch and pike notes.

Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River and Elizabeth Park

The booklet lists the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River among the “Waters where up to 5 Northern Pike 24″ or greater allowed in the daily possession limit” (p. 14), the exception to the statewide pike limit. Its season chart (p. 4) shows the Lake St. Clair system closing for muskellunge on Dec. 31. Muskellunge may be taken there, and on Lake Erie, by hook and line only (p. 17). A harvested muskellunge must be registered within 24 hours, online, on the DNR Hunt Fish app or by phone at 888-636-7778 (p. 13).

For Ontario waters of these three, the DNR’s walleye page states Ontario’s rules as “Six fish per day,” “Open all year” and “No size limit.”

Elizabeth Park in Trenton is a Wayne County park. Its undated county page gives hours as “Open Dawn to Dusk” and lists a “1,300-foot riverwalk perfect for fishing.” It says the park’s boat launch is “Managed by the City of Trenton Parks and Recreation” (734-341-8706) and states no launch fee, ramp season or winter parking status. The City of Trenton’s Elizabeth Park Marina pages, read Oct. 31, 2026, list a boat launch fee of $7 ($5 for seniors 62 and up, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays) and say “The Marina is open from April 1 to October 31.” They state nothing about launch access in November, so check the City of Trenton’s marina page or call 734-341-8706 before you go. The DNR’s Boating Facility Finder lists Elizabeth Park under the Detroit River in Wayne County, with other Detroit River sites.

Lake Erie and Lake Erie Metropark

Lake Erie is the one water in the table with its own perch limit, set in the booklet’s Note 5 (p. 14). Northern pike there follow the statewide minimum and daily limit, open all year in the Lower Peninsula Great Lakes (p. 12). The Huron River in Wayne County, from Belleville Lake Dam downstream to Lake Erie, has its own booklet line as a Type 4 stream (p. 65); the stream types guide in this issue explains types.

Lake Erie Metropark, in Brownstown, is run by the Huron-Clinton Metroparks. Its page, read Oct. 31, 2026, lists “Twelve boat ramps” with access “to the Detroit River and Lake Erie,” park hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and “Park Fees: $10 Daily Vehicle or Boat Pass OR Annual Passes.” The Metroparks’ rules say “All trailered watercraft are required to pay the Metropark boat fee,” limit motorboats to 10 statute miles per hour in park waters, and state: “A personal floatation device (PFD) is required for every passenger in a vessel.” The page shows no closure or winter notice. For anglers on shore, the park’s page lists shoreline and bridge fishing, says “Spearing and bow and arrow fishing are prohibited,” and requires a Michigan fishing license for anglers 17 and up.

Saginaw Bay, and finding a launch

The Saginaw Bay walleye limit in the table covers the Lake Huron waters of management unit MH-4, including Saginaw Bay and the lower Saginaw River from its mouth upstream to the West Center Street (Douglas G. Schenk) Bridge, in Bay and Saginaw Counties (booklet p. 13). Fisheries Order 215.23A, in force since Sept. 15, 2023, says the same. Changes “will be announced” on the DNR’s fishing site and in a prerecorded message at 888-367-7060. Elsewhere on the Lower Peninsula Great Lakes, the statewide table’s walleye line is a 15-inch minimum and five a day (p. 12).

No Saginaw Bay launch is named here, nor any DNR launch on these waters: the pages read state no fee, hours or November status for one. The DNR’s boating page counts “more than 1,000” public boating access sites and its Recreation Passport page “nearly 1,000,” so the state has about 1,000; the Boating Facility Finder’s own unfiltered list reads “Total: 1,203.” As read Oct. 30, 2026, the finder lists Saginaw Bay shoreline sites under the waterbody “Lake Huron,” by county, and its detail panels have no fee field and no hours field. For public land near the water, see the public-land map in this issue.

The DNR’s state park rules page (undated, read Oct. 30, 2026) says a Recreation Passport is required for “DNR-managed boating access sites.” The Recreation Passport page lists $15 for a Michigan-registered vehicle bought at plate renewal, effective Jan. 1, 2026, and says “A daily pass for residents is not available.” For nonresidents it lists $42 annual and $12 daily.

Cold water, and what the boat must carry

The National Weather Service’s cold water page (undated, read Oct. 30, 2026) states: “Cold shock can be just as severe and dangerous from water temperatures of 50-60°F (10-15°C) as it is from water at 35°F (2°C).” It adds that “Wearing a life jacket significantly increases chances of survival,” and, in its preparedness list: “Always dress for water temperature, not for air temperature.” The NWS attributes its “Take Action” list to the U.S. Coast Guard (stay calm, minimize time in the water, keep as much of the body out of it as possible); the Coast Guard’s cold-water guidance reaches this piece only through that page. The National Center for Cold Water Safety says: “you have to survive cold shock before incapacitation or hypothermia become a survival issue.” Its page on the 1-10-1 rule calls it “one of the most widely known cold water myths.”

The DNR’s boating safety page says that of people who drowned in a boating-related fatality, 87% were not wearing a life jacket; its statistics footnote cites the 2024 U.S. Coast Guard Recreational Boating Statistics, so these are national figures on a Michigan page. Michigan’s 2026 boating handbook has no section on cold shock or immersion; its pre-departure checklist says to “Make sure all passengers wear clothing appropriate for the water temperature and conditions,” which is advice, not a rule.

What the law requires is narrower. On Michigan waters, the handbook says all vessels must have a personal flotation device for each person on board, and that one throwable device must be on board vessels 16 feet or longer and “immediately available.” For Great Lakes and connecting waterways, the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations (p. 33) say the Coast Guard requires vessels under 16 feet to carry “one wearable U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket for each person on board,” and a craft 16 feet or longer at least one wearable per person plus one throwable Type IV. Michigan law (booklet p. 33; handbook p. 27) requires children under six to wear a Coast Guard-approved Type I or Type II life jacket on the open deck of a boat underway.

The Coast Guard Boating Safety Division’s life jacket page (last modified October 2026) says “children under 13 years of age must wear a USCG Approved lifejacket or buoyancy aid” when a vessel is underway, with exceptions below deck or in an enclosed cabin, and adds “State laws may vary.” The federal under-13 rule and Michigan’s under-six rule are each stated above as its own source gives it, and this story does not resolve how the two apply together on Michigan waters. The DNR’s boating safety page says boaters born after June 30, 1996 “must have a boating safety certificate.”

Which life jacket to wear in cold water is a gear question: the life jacket piece in this issue goes through the designs on other people’s tests, and the Presque Isle guide in this issue covers cold water from a pier.

When to check again

The walleye limit for the St. Clair system and Lake Erie is the number the DNR says it resets each year on May 1, so its fishing regulations page is the one to read then. For Saginaw Bay, watch the DNR’s fishing site and the 888-367-7060 message. Before each trip, read the DNR’s closures page for the launch, and call the City of Trenton or the Metroparks, since neither park page states a November status. Muskellunge possession on the St. Clair system ends Dec. 31.