One of Michigan’s most anticipated angling opportunities – the annual lake sturgeon fishing season on Black Lake in Cheboygan County – will start at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 2. The 2019 total season limit on Black Lake is seven lake sturgeon. To reduce the chance of exceeding that limit, officials will close the season if one of two scenarios occurs:

• The sixth fish is harvested.
• Five fish have been harvested at the end of any fishing day.

Daily season fishing hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The season will end either at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6, or when one of the above scenarios is met, at which point DNR personnel on the lake will notify anglers to immediately stop fishing for lake sturgeon.

Registration is required to participate in the season. The DNR Onaway field station (approximately 5 miles north of Onaway on Route 11) will host early registration 2 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1.

"Early registration is a great opportunity for anglers to pick up their fishing identification flags and talk with DNR staff about season logistics and sturgeon populations,” said DNR fisheries biologist Tim Cwalinski.

Anglers are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the early registration Friday, but those unable to do so may register the next day at the registration trailer at Zolner Road ending on Black Lake. Morning registration begins at 7 a.m. each day of the season.

Anyone who successfully takes a lake sturgeon must contact an on-ice DNR employee and register the fish at the Zolner Road trailer registration site. Registration may include an examination of the fish’s internal organs and removal of a piece of fin tissue for DNA analysis and aging.

Questions? Call the DNR’s Gaylord Customer Service Center at 989-732-3541, visit michigan.gov/fishing or contact Tim Cwalinski, 989-732-3541, ext. 5072 or Elyse Walter, 517-284-5839.