Downriver Walleye Federation
Southeast Michigan’s Premier Walleye Fishing Club!
News & Notes
Online Tournament Registration Is Now Available!
March 13, 2026, As of today, you can now register for DWF Tournaments online and pay with a credit card. Visit our “Tournaments” page for all the details. You can go also directly to the “Tournament Sign Up” page from there, or you’ll find a drop down link below the “Tournaments” link in the main menu.
If you prefer the more traditional approach, you can also print out the paper registration form from either of the Tournaments pages. This form can be mailed in with a check, turned in with cash or check at the Bait and Tackle Box on Jefferson in Trenton, or turned in directly to the Tournament Director (Dan Porter) with the payment.
However you choose to sign up, our first event (The Tom Dinneweth Memorial Tournament) is scheduled for April 18th. Just around the corner.
Full details and supporting documents are now available on our “Tournaments” page. Go check it out!
A Fish Cleaning Station May Be Coming To The Lake Erie Metro Park Boat Launch!
February, 2026, The Huron Clinton Metroparks has developed a proposal for adding a comprehensive fish cleaning station to the boat ramp area of the Lake Erie Metropark. The proposal (click the link below for more of the proposed details) is now in the approval and funding stages from what we understand.
The Downriver Walleye Federation (DWF) has submitted a formal letter of support to Huron Clinton Metroparks to be included in the pending grant applications.
To view a copy of the preliminary site proposal; CLICK HERE!
Their Will Be Lots Of Great Information Shared At The 2026 SE Michigan Fishery Workshop
Registration for the 2026 SE Michigan Fishery Workshop is now open. The event will be held April 9 from 6-8pm in Clinton Township at the MSU Extension Macomb County Office. If you prefer to attend online, the event will be hybrid with Zoom participation available. Topics covered include:
- Back to basics: DNR Fish Regulations — Cleyo Harris (MDNR)
- Status of Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair fishery – Andrew Briggs (MDNR)
- Impact of year-round catch and release on smallmouth bass — Jan-Michael Hessenauer (MDNR)
- Ford Cove habitat restoration project — Scott Dierks (GEI Consultants)
- Update on muck in Lake St. Clair – Kevin Goodwin and Josh Tellier (EGLE)
The Annual Riverkeeper Dinner is Coming Up on April 11th
April 11th, 2026, Tickets for the annual Riverkeeper dinner are available now. The event will take place at the Wyandotte Boat Club from 6-9pm on April 11th.
Tickets are $65/person. All proceeds go to support the Detroit Riverkeeper Program, who works to protect and preserve the Detroit River Watershed.
Enjoy live music, cash bar, raffle prizes and a silent auction.
Final Preparations Are Underway For Our 2026 Tournament Season!
March 2nd 2026, The annual Tournament Planning meeting has been concluded, the results were reviewed and accepted at the February Board of directors meeting and preparations are underway for our 2026 Season. The schedule has been set, the rules have been updated and the revised registration process is being developed. Here’s the schedule, stay tuned for all the details.
- Tournament 1, April 18th
- Tournament 2, May 2nd
- Tournament 3, May 30th
- Tournament 4, June 13th,
- Tournament 5, September 26th (Perch Tournament)
Updates On The Recent NRC Meeting Shared By Doug Schultz
The following are updates from the Natural Resources Commission meeting that occurred this past Thursday in Lansing. The NRC voted to enact three fisheries order changes. In each of these cases, the fisheries orders that the NRC passed were different than the recommendations of Fisheries Division. All of these changes will take effect April 1, 2026.
- Underwater Spearfishing – Based on the results of a structured decision-making process and our current limited internal capacity, Fisheries Division recommended that the existing opportunities for underwater spearfishing be continued with no expansion. That was a position that was widely supported by many stakeholder groups; however, the NRC changed the recommended fisheries order and will allow underwater spearfishing targeting Lake Trout, Northern Pike, and Walleye in Lake Superior (with closures around Stannard Rock and Big Reef) and new waters in lakes Michigan and Erie.
- Offshore Lake Trout Limits – Fisheries Division recommended that the daily possession limit for Lake Trout be reduced from 5 fish to 2 fish at Stannard Rock and Big Reef. The NRC changed the recommendation and passed the fisheries order with a lower daily possession of one Lake Trout per day at each of these locations.
- Walleye Protected Slot Limits – This topic was specific to UP lakes. After an extensive review of data and consultation with the public, Fisheries Division recommended a protected slot limit for walleye be implemented on 10 Upper Peninsula lakes. The NRC changed the recommended fisheries order and eliminated 8 of the lakes from the proposed list, so only two lakes will have a protected slot limit for walleye, those being Teal Lake and Lake Independence, both in Marquette County.
The changes that the NRC made to the Fisheries Division recommendations were not consistent; some were in the direction of species conservation, others were in the direction of opportunity for the public. There will be dialogue ongoing in the coming weeks and months about the process associated with regulation changes. We hope to better understand what drives the NRC to the decisions they make, so we can better tailor our internal process to ensure our recommendations have the best chance of being implemented. We also will be discussing the role of our citizens advisory committees (across all the basins) to ensure that their voices are better heard when regulation proposals come forward in the future. If you have any questions, please reach out.
Thank you for all the time you volunteer to help make fisheries better in Michigan
Doug Schultz
Lake Huron Basin Coordinator
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Updates On The Following Three Articles Are Provided By Jim Francis, MDNR Fisheries Division
FY26 Fisheries Division Budget Summary
- Fisheries Division Base Operating Budget: $36M
- One-Time Appropriation: $2.8M General Fund for Fish Production. This resolves potential impacts to fish production for FY26.
- One-Time Work Project Request: $1.1M Game & Fish Protection Fund transfer for Fisheries Resource Management. Work projects may include but are not limited to modernization of infrastructure, facilities, and ageing or failing equipment to better address operational needs, ensure staff safety, improve energy efficiency, and ensure preventative maintenance is more manageable; inland creel surveys; funding aquatic habitat grants; and/or cormorant management. Work projects are currently being prioritized to ensure we maximize the long-term return to Michigan’s anglers.
- One-Time Appropriation: $1.4M Game & Fish Protection Fund appropriation for Capital Outlay funds to address infrastructure needs.
National Angler Survey
We have been asked to share the link to a nationwide survey conducted by researchers at the University of Massachusetts. This survey focuses on angler perceptions of threats to freshwater fisheries and potential solutions that would improve fishing experiences. While Michigan DNR is not a part of the survey, we are sharing the link to help increase both awareness and the number of survey respondents from our state. Please consider participating in the survey and sharing the link with your friends and colleagues. Questions or a request for the results can be directed to the researchers: Andy Danylchuk (adanylch@umass.edu) and Evan Prasky (eprasky@umass.edu).
Survey Link: http://bit.ly/40DFOcx
Regulatory Changes
The NRC has offered the following amendments to Fisheries Division’s recommended regulation changes for 2026, which we expect will be acted upon during the November 6 NRC meeting in Lansing:
- Fisheries Order 219:
- Expands underwater spearfishing opportunities for Walleye, Northern Pike, and Lake Trout in Lakes Michigan, Erie, and Superior, with exceptions.
- Removes reporting requirements and regulation sunset.
- Adds a prohibition on the use of lures, attractants, and decoys while underwater spearfishing.
- Fisheries Order 253: Reduces daily possession limit for Lake Trout/Splake to one (1) in areas defined as Stannard Rock and Big Reef.
- Fisheries Order 206: Bass – Black Lake, Burt Lake, Crooked Lake, Pickerel Lake, Mullet Lake “… including all connecting waters, the bass catch and immediate release season is closed May 1 – the Friday before the third Saturday in June and the bass possession season is the third Saturday in June – December 31, inclusive.”
If members of the committee or others are interested in expressing their perspectives on any of these NRC proposed amendments, the NRC regulatory process is open to the public and the commission accepts comments. Comments can be provided via email at NRC@michigan.gov or by attending the NRC meeting to provide comments following the process described in the Public Appearance Guidelines.
Please reach out if I can help answer any questions!
Jim Francis
Lake Erie Basin Coordinator
Michigan DNR – Fisheries
|517-242-3593
Our 2025 DWF tournament Season officially wrapped up this past September 27th with the Mike Barkley Memorial Perch Tournament. Team EZ Limits (Sal Grima, Norm Konczal and Chris Majerle) took First place and Big Fish honors with 5.94 pounds. Second place went to Team Bouy Scouts (Steve Gardner, Tom O’Harris and Dennis Kovacs) with 5.68 pounds.
Sal Grima and Norm Konczal also wrapped up Captain Of The Year and Angler Of the Year respectively.
Congratulations to all who participated in our Tournaments this year. And, let’s give a big shout out to Dan Porter for another awesome season as our Tournament Director.