Lake Michigan
The rule for this water, with the receipt.
Special regulations for Lake Michigan, as the state words them
IN County · Lake · IN
Today's rule hereParsed
- Season
- March 1 through May 30This water
- Gear
- Each line may have no more than three single- or multi-pronged hooks, three artificial lures, or a combination of three hooks and artificial lures.Statewide
- Bait
- Live alewives may be collected, possessed, and used on Lake Michigan only. Alewives may not be transported away from Lake Michigan. Any unused alewives must be killed. You must immediately kill alewives collected from waters other than Lake Michigan.This water
- Poles
- You may not fish with more than three poles or hand lines at a time.Statewide
| Species | Daily limit | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|
Crayfish | cannot transport more than 100 crayfish across the state line in a 24-hour period unless commercially raising crayfish | - | Statewide |
largemouth bass Varies by water: largemouth bass that are from 12 to 15 inches in length may not be harvested. The daily bag limit applies to bass under 12 inches and over 15 inches. (Buffalo Trace Lake); No minimum size limit (Brownstown Pit) | two fish daily bag limit | min. 18-inch minimum size limit | Statewide |
Muskellunge 6 and Tiger Muskellunge 6 | 1 muskellunge or 1 tiger muskellunge | min. 36 inches 2 | Statewide |
Northern Pike | 3 3 | min. 24 inches; no more than one 30 inches or longer 4 | Statewide |
Yellow Perch | Unlimited (15 only on Lake Michigan) | min. None | Statewide |
Bullhead | Unlimited | min. None | Statewide |
Shovelnose Sturgeon | Unlimited | min. 25 inches (fork length) | Statewide |
Sauger | included in the aggregate bag limit for walleye and saugeye | - | Statewide |
Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout | 5, any combination of brook, rainbow, or brown trout; no more than one may be brown trout | min. 7 inches* | Statewide |
Eastern Snapping Turtle | 4, 12-inch minimum carapace length, any combination of game turtle | min. 12-inch minimum carapace length | Statewide |
Bull Frog, Green Frog | 25, any combination of bull or green frog | - | Statewide |
largmouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass | 3, any combination of largmouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass | min. 14 inches | This water |
Black Bass: largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass | 3, any combination of largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass | min. 14 inches | This water |
The official text, verbatimOfficial text
Straight from IN's official regulations. Rules in force today lead; out-of-season rows are dimmed. Nothing is paraphrased. Not legal advice: verify the posted rules at the water.
- All fishWe share Lake Michigan borders with Illinois and Michigan. There is a reciprocal fishing zone in Calumet Harbor with Illinois. There is NO license reciprocity anywhere else on our Lake Michigan border waters. Indiana licensed anglers will need an Illinois license to fish Illinois waters of Lake Michigan, and a Michigan license to fish Michigan waters of Lake Michigan, even if launching out of Indiana.
- All fishBait Live alewives may be collected, possessed, and used on Lake Michigan only. Alewives may not be transported away from Lake Michigan. Any unused alewives must be killed. You must immediately kill alewives collected from waters other than Lake Michigan.
- largmouth, smallmouth, or spotted bassDaily limit 3, any combination of largmouth, smallmouth, or spotted bassSize 14 inches
- Black Bass: largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bassDaily limit 3, any combination of largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bassSize 14 inches
- Bowfin, buffalo fish, carp, gar, shad, and suckerGear bow and arrow
- SmeltMarch 1 through May 30 - does not apply todayGear only with a single seine or net; the seine or net may not exceed 12 feet in length and 6 feet in depth, nor have a stretch mesh larger than 1½ inches; a dip net may not exceed 12 feet in diameter
How this answer was assembled
- StatewideStatewide lake rules are the base layer: default season, gear, bait, and limits.
- This waterSpecial rules written for this exact water replace the statewide defaults where they speak.
- Emergency orderEmergency orders in effect today override everything else. They sync quietly when the phone has coverage and never lock you out of the app.
Where this rule applies
This water is not yet drawn on the map. Its rules are captured and receipted; the geometry ledger records exactly why it is not drawn (an ambiguous name match or a gap in the source data), and it will never ship as a guess. Each rule above describes in the state's own words where it applies, and those written descriptions are the authoritative boundaries.
Season at a glanceDerived
Sampled mid-month from the dated rows; short windows can slip between samples. The rows above are authoritative.
What are you fishing for here?Advice
Pick from the species named in Lake Michigan's rules. Setups are checked against the gear rules in force today, and your picks are remembered on this device only. These are rule-aware suggestions, not a claim about what is biting; advice, not law, and the rules above govern.
Receipts
Local services near Lake Michigan
Tackle shops, guides, and boat launches that serve this water will appear here - a separate lane below the rules, so a local business can reach you without ever getting between you and the regulation.
Run a shop or guide service on Lake Michigan? Get listed.