IRON MOUNTAIN — After paying a $25 registration fee, licensed Michigan anglers can participate in a statewide walleye fishing challenge that includes biweekly prizes, along with grand prize drawings.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is partnering with MyCatch by Angler’s Atlas on a challenge that includes all of the state’s inland waters. It runs through June 29.

Anglers report their catches of walleye and their fishing trips in the MyCatch mobile app. According to the DNR, the app uses anonymous location data, so your fishing spots stay secret.

Meanwhile, DNR fisheries biologists get information on generalized lake and river catch data entered via the app. The Midwest Walleye Challenge is intended to help better manage walleye populations.

“We have hundreds of waters in the state that we manage for walleye, but the combination of those vast waters and limited staffing resources results in an inability to monitor walleye populations status as intensively as we would like,” said Seth Herbst, manager of the DNR Fisheries Division’s Research Section. The DNR especially wants to learn if walleye stocking efforts are resulting in successful trips for anglers, he said.

The challenge includes several states across the Midwest as part of a larger fisheries research project. Participating states include Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska and South Dakota. Michigan anglers compete only against Michigan anglers for prizes, including cash payouts.

For more information, go to https://www.anglersatlas.com/event/841/2025-midwest-walleye-challenge-michigan.

The DNR reported this Upper Peninsula fishing activity:

Little Bay de Noc: Anglers that went out for yellow perch this week had mixed results; some anglers had success catching their limit or close to it, while others had trouble staying on active schools. Perch anglers used minnows and small, soft plastics. Anglers targeting smallmouth reported good fishing around river mouths and in relatively shallow water.

Big Bay de Noc: Anglers reported good smallmouth fishing in Ogontz Bay, near the mouth of Fishdam River, Garden Bay, as well as near Nahma. Anglers targeting smallmouth in the shallows used soft plastics and jerk baits. Reports of slow perch fishing in Garden Bay.

Munising: Anglers fishing off the Anna River Dock reported some splake and whitefish using spawn and casting spoons. Anglers trolling the bay were still catching good numbers of coho salmon and also caught a few splake and Chinook salmon mixed in. Boat anglers jigging for lake trout did well outside of the bay.