What You Need To Know About 2024 Black Lake Sturgeon Season

The 2024 Black Lake sturgeon fishing season is slowly approaching and everything you need to know to be a part of it is right here.

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What is a Lake Sturgeon?

Most people have not seen a sturgeon in the water but if you have it is a one-of-a-kind experience for any fisherman.

I have only seen two in all my years fishing in Michigan in the wild. A guy caught one on a tip-up at Claire Metro Park when I was ice fishing years ago. My second time was when COVID kicked in when I was fishing on the Muskegon River and the guy next to me hooked one while the sturgeon were spawning. It was the biggest freshwater fish I had ever seen and was probably nearly 5 feet long. The guy fought the fish for nearly half an hour before it busted his line but it was a joy watching a beast of a fish like that.

A lake sturgeon in Michigan can weigh between 30-100 pounds and grow to 3-6 feet in length. Now that is what you call a whopper right there. Sturgeon live longer than any other fish species in Michigan. Male lake sturgeon live an average of 55 years while females live 80-150 years.

Even though sturgeon live for a long time they are very slow to mature. Males take about 15 years and females 20-25 years to mature and be able to reproduce. With the slow reproductive time, Michigan needs to regulate the fishing season to protect the species from becoming extinct.

2024 Black Lake Sturgeon Season Details

Black Lake in Cheboygan County, Michigan, offers a rare opportunity to catch Lake Sturgeon through the ice. I have been hearing about this for the last couple of years and just had to know more about it so I will do my best to pass the information on to you.

This short sturgeon season on Black Lake is for spearfishing. You do have to have a Michigan fishing license to participate unless you are under 17 years of age. You also have to register online to be a part of the Black Lake spearing season and you can do that by clicking here. You have to be registered online by February 2.

The 2024 lake sturgeon fishing season on Black Lake begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, February 3. The total harvest for all participants combined is six fish. So the season will last until 2 p.m. Wednesday, February 7, or when the first six fish are caught whichever happens first. Fishing hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day of the season.

I have an ice shanty but don't have a spear but I may check out what other kinds of fish are in the lake and make a trip up with my son to ice fish. This way he and I can see how the others do it and learn a little more about spearfishing lake sturgeon because it looks like it would be fun to try. Plus, I don't think I will have any ice near where I live to fish and a trip to Cheboygan would get my son and me on some ice and we might see a sturgeon while we're there. I have met a lot of people who go up just to see the fish that get harvested and it sounds like a great time and a unique experience.