Possession season for walleye on Upper Peninsula inland waters opens Friday. On Lake Independence and Teal Lake in Marquette County, all walleye smaller than 15 inches and those between 18 and 23 inches are protected from harvest and must be released. (Michigan Department of Natural Resources photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Anglers targeting walleye in Lake Independence or Teal Lake in Marquette County should be aware of a regulation change that will be in effect when the Upper Peninsula season opens Friday.

All walleye smaller than 15 inches and those between 18 and 23 inches are protected from harvest and must be released.

The new protected slot limit is inclusive, meaning that walleye from 18 inches to 23 inches must be released, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources explained.

The minimum size limit for possession remains at 15 inches. The daily possession limit for walleye on these waters also remains at five fish; however, only one of those five walleye can be more than 23 inches long.

Information on this regulation can be found on page 13 of the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations.

A protected slot limit is one of the regulatory tools fisheries managers use to help sustain walleye populations. Regulation changes such as this one must be approved by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission, after soliciting public feedback.

The NRC considered several lakes for a protected slot limit, including Lake Gogebic and Pomeroy Lake (Gogebic County); Gratiot Lake (Keweenaw County); Big Manistique Lake (Luce and Mackinac counties); Milakokia Lake (Mackinac County); and Lake Mary, Stanley Lake and Winslow Lake (Iron County).

At this time, Lake Independence and Teal Lake were approved for the limit.

***

The Michigan DNR is partnering with MyCatch by Angler’s Atlas on a statewide walleye fishing challenge that includes all inland waters in the state. The challenge runs May 15 through June 28.

Participants must pay a $25 fee to register, which qualifies them for prizes, including cash payouts. The entry fee also includes a $20 Discount Tackle gift certificate for every angler who reports a valid trip.

This year, the challenge will include two new features: County Captains and weekly challenges aimed at boosting angler engagement.

As part of the challenge, anglers report their catches of walleye and their fishing trips in the MyCatch mobile app. While the app uses anonymous location data, Michigan DNR fisheries biologists are able to obtain generalized lake and river catch data to better assess and manage walleye populations.

“We’re excited to continue to work with our anglers to learn more about Michigan walleye populations during the third year of Midwest Walleye Challenge participation,” said Seth Herbst, manager of the DNR Fisheries Division’s Research Section. “We have hundreds of inland 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 as intensively as we would like.”

This year’s challenge includes several states across the Midwest as part of a larger fisheries research project. States participating and promoting the challenge include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska and South Dakota.

Michigan anglers compete only against Michigan anglers for weekly prizes, as well as grand prize drawings at the end of the event. The addition of County Captains, who will serve as local leaders to encourage anglers in their counties to participate, and weekly challenges with different goals throughout the season provide new ways for anglers to engage.

Full details about prizes and qualifications are available on the prizes tab of the main event webpage at https://www.anglersatlas.com/event/900/2026-michigan-walleye-challenge.

***

The Michigan DNR reported this U.P. fishing activity:

Little Bay de Noc: Smallmouth anglers reported good fishing. Anglers reported large fish near river mouths, points, and in shallow bays. Anglers reported fish around last year’s dead reeds and cattails. The new growth had not yet emerged above the water, so last year’s growth created visual casting points. Shore anglers at the Ford River reported good bass fishing; pier anglers at the Escanaba River caught some smallmouth bass and yellow perch.

Munising: Boating anglers trolling the bay and around Grand Island did well catching coho salmon with a few splake mixed in. Boat anglers targeting lake trout had success around Grand Island by jigging. Anglers fishing off the Anna River mouth reported catching some good-sized splake, with spawn working best.

Keweenaw Bay: Anglers reported fair numbers of coho salmon, with an occasional steelhead and lake trout caught while trolling stickbaits and spoons in the upper portion of the water column. Anglers jigging for lake trout reported good numbers caught within the last week. Shore anglers reported fair catches of coho salmon and splake using both natural bait and artificial presentations.

Traverse Bay/Portage Entry: Anglers reported fair fishing while trolling spoons and body baits for both lake trout and coho salmon nearshore. Anglers also reported the occasional brown trout or steelhead being caught. Shore anglers reported slow fishing, with only a few coho being caught over the last week.

Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Recent reports showed catches primarily consisting of coho salmon and brown trout, with occasional steelhead and Chinook salmon also being caught. Anglers found the most success trolling in shallow waters. Shore anglers fishing in Union Bay also had some luck catching a mix of coho salmon, brown trout, and an occasional steelhead.

Grand Marais: Anglers fishing off the breakwall reported a good coho salmon bite, along with the lake whitefish bite starting to pick up. Spawn was the preferred bait. Boat anglers trolling did well catching coho salmon east and west of the breakwall at shallow depths.

Manistique: Anglers targeting steelhead drifted beads, and some cast spinners or brightly colored crankbaits. Suckers were a common bycatch for those drifting beads. Overall, fishing was fair to good this week.