Michigan hunting and fishing laws
The Michigan rules that catch people out, in plain English: hunter education, minimum age, blaze orange, Sunday hunting, shooting hours, baiting, night hunting, tagging and private land. Each one links to the state's own text.
Season dates for 2026-27. Page updated October 12, 2026.
These pages sum up the rules to help you find them. They are not legal advice. The state's own regulations govern, so check them before you go.
Hunter education in Michigan
To purchase a hunting license in Michigan, an individual born on or after January 1, 1960, is required to successfully complete an approved hunter education course. Mentored Hunting Program participants are exempt.
Minimum hunting age in Michigan
Youth ages 10 to 16 may purchase licenses, and age 9 and under may hunt through the Mentored Hunting Program.
Blaze orange in Michigan
Applies to: Deer
If you are hunting deer with a firearm, you must wear a cap, hat, vest, jacket or rain gear of hunter orange. The hunter orange garments must be your outermost layer and be visible from all sides. Camouflage is permitted if not less than 50 percent hunter orange. Archery-only seasons are exempt. There is no square-inch standard, and blaze pink is not listed as acceptable.
Applies to: Upland and small game
Small game hunters, except crow hunters, must also wear hunter orange during the extended fall through spring period set in the regulations.
Sunday hunting in Michigan
Not verified. Michigan's 2026 deer, small game and furbearer regulation summaries list no statewide Sunday hunting closure, but no agency statement that Sunday hunting is allowed was found, and local controls were not checked. Confirm with the official regulations before you hunt.
Shooting hours in Michigan
Hunting hours run from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset, with exact times given by date and zone in the regulation tables.
Baiting in Michigan
Applies to: Deer
Baiting rules differ by peninsula. In the Lower Peninsula baiting and feeding are prohibited. The sole exception is that hunters with disabilities who meet specific requirements may use bait in the Lower Peninsula during the Liberty and Independence Hunts only.
Applies to: Deer
In the Upper Peninsula baiting is permitted during the fall and early winter period set in the regulations, with extensions for eligible hunters. Bait volume at any hunting site cannot exceed two gallons, bait dispersal must be over a minimum 10-foot by 10-foot area, and bait must be scattered directly on the ground.
Applies to: Deer
Recreational feeding in the Upper Peninsula is restricted to two gallons per residence per calendar day, and feed may be no more than 100 yards from a residence. Supplemental winter feeding must be one-quarter mile or more from the nearest paved public highway and at least 1 mile from livestock and commercial crops.
Applies to: Bear
Bear bait stations are allowed from the start of the bear baiting period, 31 days before the open season in that bear management unit, through the end of the bear hunting season, with up to 2 gallons of deer and elk attracting bait where deer baiting is allowed. You cannot use chocolate or cocoa derivatives, melatonin, or any other stupefying substance, drug or anticoagulant at a bait station.
Night hunting in Michigan
You cannot use an artificial light, including vehicle headlights, to locate wild animals at any time in November, or between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. the rest of the year, unless you are lawfully hunting furbearers at night. Coyotes may be hunted at night during the coyote night season, with extra firearm limits in the days just before the November firearm deer opener.
Tagging and reporting a harvest in Michigan
Deer and turkey harvest reporting is mandatory within 72 hours of harvest or before transferring possession, online at Michigan.gov/DNRHarvestReport or via the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app.
Applies to: Bear
Within 72 hours of harvest, take the unfrozen, undivided bear head and hide, or the entire animal, to a DNR registration station.
Hunting on private land in Michigan
Written or verbal permission is required from the landowner or leaseholder before you hunt on any farmlands, connected woodlots, private land or property that is fenced or enclosed. Verbal permission is sufficient.
Can you show your Michigan license on your phone?
License on phone OK. eHarvest tags in the app.
The DNR's electronic license “allows an individual to display a copy of the fishing license using a smart phone or similar device,” and licenses bought in the Hunt Fish app come with an eHarvest tag on your phone. With an eHarvest tag “a physical tag is not required as long as the harvested animal is attended by the hunter”; if it is left unattended you must attach “a physical tag made of durable material with the license number written in permanent ink.” Licenses bought online (not in the app) come with a mailed paper kill tag, and bear, bobcat, fisher, marten and otter must still be sealed at a DNR office.
Phone with Hunt Fish app; durable tag if left
Michigan hunting season dates, 2026-27
The main seasons, from the state's published dates. Zones and units can differ; each season links to the state's own page for it.
| Season | Dates | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer — archery | Oct 1 – Nov 14, 2026 | Statewide | Late archery Dec 1, 2026-Jan 1, 2027 |
| Deer — regular firearm | Nov 15 – Nov 30, 2026 | Statewide | |
| Deer — muzzleloader / December firearm | Dec 4 – Dec 6, 2026 | Statewide (UP muzzleloader; LP December firearm) | Cut to 3 days. LP late antlerless firearm Dec 7-Jan 1 |
| Elk — hunt period 1 | Sep 23 – Oct 4, 2026 | Elk management units (drawing license) | Hunt period 2 Dec 1-15 |
| Black bear | Sep 12 – Sep 22, 2026 | Red Oak, Baldwin, Gladwin units (LP) | Also Oct 2-8. UP units open Sept 9; dates vary by unit and hunt period |
| Turkey — spring | Not published yet | Statewide (Hunt 0234, no application) | 2027 dates not yet published. Earliest 2026 hunts opened Apr 18 |
| Turkey — fall | Sep 15 – Nov 14, 2026 | TMU I | Unlimited licenses; on sale from Aug 15 |
| Pheasant | Oct 20 – Nov 14, 2026 | Zones 2 and 3 (Lower Peninsula) | Zone 1 (UP) Oct 10-31. Zone 3 also Dec 1-Jan 1 |
| Ducks | Oct 17 – Dec 13, 2026 | South Zone | Also Dec 26-27. North Sept 26-Nov 22; Middle Oct 3-Nov 29 |
| Trout — Type 1 and 2 streams | Not published yet | Inland Type 1 and Type 2 trout streams | Opens last Saturday in April; 2027 guide not yet published |
What you can hunt in Michigan
Big game
- White-tailed deer General season
- Black bear Draw or limited entry Licenses issued by drawing with unit quotas
- Elk Draw or limited entry Random weighted drawing, application in May
- Moose No season No hunting season in Michigan
Upland and small game
- Wild turkey Draw or limited entry Licenses by application; leftovers sold over the counter
- Ruffed grouse General season
- Sharp-tailed grouse General season Upper Peninsula only
- Pheasant General season Zone dependent
- Bobwhite quail General season Select counties
- Cottontail rabbit and snowshoe hare General season
- Squirrel General season
- Raccoon and opossum General season
- Crow General season
Waterfowl and migratory
- Ducks and geese General season
- Woodcock, snipe, rail General season
- Mourning dove No season No season
- Sandhill crane No season No season; proposals only
Furbearer and predator
- Coyote General season
- Red and gray fox General season
- Bobcat General season Kill tag required, unit based
- Fisher General season Kill tag required, unit based
What you can fish for in Michigan
All-species license covers everything — no trout or Great Lakes stamp
Fishing licenses sold: 1-day, Annual
Trout and char
- Brook trout General season
- Brown and rainbow trout General season
- Splake and lake trout General season
Salmon and anadromous
- Chinook, coho and pink salmon General season
- Atlantic salmon General season A genuine open Great Lakes fishery
- Steelhead General season Regulated as rainbow trout
Warmwater
- Largemouth and smallmouth bass General season Catch and release allowed year round
- Walleye General season
- Sauger General season Boundary waters only
- Northern pike General season
- Muskellunge Tag or permit One a year; harvest must be registered within 24 hours
- Channel and flathead catfish General season
- Crappie, sunfish and yellow perch General season
Other
- Lake whitefish, cisco and round whitefish General season
- Burbot General season
- Carp General season Bowfishing
- Lake sturgeon Tag or permit One a year, registered within 24 hours; Black Lake is a spearing quota
Official Michigan links
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Carry your Michigan license on your phone
Sportsmen Ledger holds your hunting and fishing licenses and tags, these rules and your harvest log, and it works with no signal. Free to start.
Compare with other states
- Hunter education requirements by state
- Minimum hunting age by state
- Blaze orange requirements by state
- Sunday hunting laws by state
- Legal shooting hours by state
- Baiting laws by state
- Night hunting laws by state
- Tagging and harvest reporting by state
- Hunting on private land, state by state
- Can you show your hunting or fishing license on your phone? Every state