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Northern Lake Huron Management Unit

Northern Lake Huron Management Unit

The Northern Lake Huron Management Unit (NLHMU) encompasses all waters that drain into the northern portion of Lake Huron. Our work area includes all or portions of the following counties: Alcona, Alpena, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Chippewa, Crawford, Emmet, Iosco, Mackinac, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon. The NLHMU covers a diverse array of inland waters and nearshore Lake Huron from a field office located in Gaylord. 

Northern Lake Huron Fishing Locations
Northern Lake Huron map

Additional Information

Status of the Fishery Resource Reports

Status of the Fishery Resource Reports contain the results of major fisheries surveys on Michigan lakes and rivers.

View reports

Seasonal Updates

  • The last time the DNR conducted a large electrofishing effort below the Mio dam to look at the relative survival of different strains of clipped brown trout, we noticed a large percentage of fish were not clipped. In the past, the information we had allowed us to assume natural reproduction of brown trout in this reach was generally negligible. Those results caused us, and anglers who noticed the same thing, to wonder if that assumption was correct.

    We talked to anglers and angling groups and decided to see if we could take a closer look at the situation. The trouble is, fin clipping fish takes time and we couldn't muster the funds to clip all the fish necessary.

    That is where the anglers who fish the Au Sable stepped up. They asked, "How can we help?" and did so by driving over to Harrietta State Fish Hatchery to help clip adipose fins of brown trout. Because of their assistance, we stocked fin clipped fish this year, and hopefully in the years to come.

    We will follow-up with fall electrofishing to check the ratio of fin clipped fish to non-clipped brown trout. If natural reproduction makes up a large portion of the population, we could consider changes in our stocking allocations to the river. We always hope for our trout populations to sustain themselves. Stay tuned for the results in a few years.

  • The Northern Lake Huron Management Unit is working over the next decade to learn more about the distribution, spawning areas, growth rates and harvest of muskellunge in the entire Inland Waterway of northern Michigan, including the Black, Mullett, and Burt lake systems.

    This was the second year of our tagging project and we gained a great deal of information in a limited time. As to date, we have tagged 28 muskellunge in the waterway, up to 51 inches. Most are caught through our survey efforts, which mainly include nighttime electrofishing. A few have also been caught (and released) by anglers, after the DNR has tagged those fish.

    We will continue to learn more about this unique population of fish, and will be able to better answer future questions on species management.

    Below are some pictures of our muskellunge tagging effort:

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