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Boating In Michigan

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  The Great Lakes are incredibly diverse and beautiful freshwater lakes, able to accommodate small vessels to rather large ones. If you love the water and boating, the State of Michigan is the place you’ll want to visit. Surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes, it offers 3,288 miles of coastline, 35,000 miles in all of freshwater streams, freshwater rivers and even wetlands. It is no surprise that Michigan has more registered boats than any other state in the nation.
  
  If you’re planning to do any boating in Michigan, there are a few rules and regulations you must follow. You must first register your vessel with the State of Michigan. However, if you are simply visiting Michigan for a short time and have registered your vessel in your home state, it’s not required for you to register with the State of Michigan in addition. Also, you’re exempt from registering your vessel if it is 16-feet in length, a kayak, rowboat, or non-motorized canoe, of which you are the owner. If neither of these exceptions applies to you, you must register your vessel prior to entering Michigan waters. You’ll be issued a Michigan Certificate of Number and validation decals that allow you to enjoy the waters of this breathtakingly beautiful state.
  
  Another important rule or regulation to note is the requirement for PFD’s, or personal flotation devices. All boats, regardless of size, must have on hand, a PFD for each person who is on the boat. If you are child who is boating in Michigan, and are under 6 years of age, you are required to wear a PFD at all times when you are in the boat. The PFD must have the stamp of approval of the U.S. Coast Guard and must be easily accessed at all times. For other rules and regulations regarding boating in Michigan, please visit www.michigan.gov/dnr.
  
  Now that you’re all set to go to Michigan and enjoy being on the open water; where do you go? There are numerous popular boating locations throughout the state of Michigan. Harbors and safe harbors in this state alone number at least 80, so there is a place for everyone to enjoy the deep blue waters, sea life, and the windy days Michigan is known for having.
  
  Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is one of the most visited areas of the state for those vacationing in Michigan. Whitefish Point, St. Ignace, and several other tourist areas offer a little bit of everything for visitors. The Pictured Rock National Lakeshore is a popular spot to stop along your coastal journey with scuba diving, hiking and fishing available during your day’s visit.
  
  Traverse City is known as one of the most popular stops in Michigan, whether you’re boating or driving. Plan to stop at the Clinch Park Marina and treat yourself to some of the best food and fun in Michigan.
  
  For avid boaters, sailing or motoring right up the coastline is an ideal trip with several harbors or safe harbors on the way. When you feel the need to rediscover your “land legs”, pull into a harbor and enjoy the sights, food, and people that make Michigan one of the most desired vacation spots in the United States.
  
  The number of popular boating locations in Michigan is numerous and there is something for everyone. Come and enjoy boating in Michigan! It will be an experience you won’t soon forget.

Michigan Fishing

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  If you are lucky enough to get to go ice-fishing in Michigan, you’ll be hooked on the excitement of bringing up a 14-inch crappie or a large walleye or pike up through a hole in the ice. In the winter when the Lakes freeze over, and there are a lot of them in Michigan, the natives get the shanty’s and live out on the ice, fishing through holes and pulling up different kinds of fish, large and small. Many fisherman fish for perch, bluegill, crappie, and walleye since these fish will inhabit shallower water in the winter. They use smaller, sensitive poles for a lighter hit sensitivity, since the fish don’t bite as hard in the winter. A lot of times, they will use minnows to trigger a bite, and once they start, the fun begins.
  
  Some fishermen will go further out on the ice as winter progresses and the ice gets thicker. When you get to where the water is 70-130 feet deep, this is where the bigger fish are in the winter months. Northern Pike, Musky (or Muskie), Lake trout, Whitefish and some larger walleye are fished using minnows, and jigging action with certain lures, depending on conditions. These can be some monsters to get through a hole, and a lot of excitement ensues everytime somebody hooks into one.
  
  In the warmer months, fly-fishing and river fishing is abundant. Michigan boasts several types of Salmon-Atlantic, Chinook, Coho, and Pink or Humpback Salmon. When the Salmon spawn is on, chances are the Trout spawn is too. With Brook trout, Brown trout and of course the Steelhead or Rainbow Trout, Michigan is a fly-fisherman’s trout-fishing dream.
  
  Lake Michigan has an abundant supply of Smelt, and it is one of the few fish you are allowed to net. Growing up to 6 inches long, many people eat them different ways and they are used to garnish sushi, in addition to being a food source for Salmon and Lake Trout, so they are also often used as bait. Lake Herring are also found and are prized when smoked, especially.
  
  Of course, many fishermen go to Michigan to fish rivers or lakes for the monster fish-Northern Pike, Muskellunge or Musky, (or Muskie) and Lake Sturgeon. These fish can be over 4 feet long, and most fisherman claim this is the one of the most exciting fishing experiences of their lifetime.
  
  There are many places to fish, of course, Lake Michigan is on the shorelines. In addition, Saginaw Bay, Houghton Lake, Higgins Lake, Big Manistique Lake, Peavey Reservoir are just a few of the more popular ice fishing and regular season locations. Muskegon River Salmon runs are popular, and Salmon are fished in Lake Michigan and it’s river tributaries, as well. There are charter fishing guide services that can take you where the fish are any time of year, with most of them being natives to Michigan.
  
  Fishing in Michigan is something every avid fisherman should plan at least once in a lifetime, whether it be ice-fishing, or Salmon or Trout river fishing, or pulling out a mess or Walleyes, or that once in a lifetime catch of a 6 foot Musky. One thing is certain, you won’t be disappointed.

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