- Hello everyone, welcome to "Michigan Out of Doors."

I'm Jenny Ciolick, and we've got an exciting show headed your way.

Jordan will take us out for an underwater adventure.

He'll be doing some spear fishing in the Port Huron area on this week's show.

You will not wanna miss that story.

And Jimmy's got another exciting fishing adventure in store for us this week.

- Well, that's right, Jenny.

We do have a couple more things on this week's show.

After we do a little spearfishing, we're gonna show you some catfishing, both before and after dark on the Grand River, for a really cool memorial tournament for a local angler.

You won't wanna miss that.

And we have time for a small bragging board on this week's show as well.

Make sure you stay tuned, I'm Jimmy Gretzinger.

It's time for "Michigan Out of Doors" ♪ From the first spring rains to the soft summer breeze ♪ ♪ Dancing on the pine forest floor ♪ ♪ The autumn colors catch your eyes ♪ ♪ Here come the crystal winter skies ♪ ♪ It's Michigan ♪ Michigan out of Doors.

- [Jimmy] What a beautiful day in the woods.

♪ Some day our children all will see ♪ ♪ This is their finest legacy ♪ The wonder and the love of Michigan ♪ ♪ As the wind comes whispering through the trees ♪ (bird calls) ♪ The sweet smell of nature's in the air ♪ ♪ From the Great Lakes to the quiet stream ♪ ♪ Shining like a sportsman's dream ♪ ♪ It's a love of Michigan we all share ♪ - [Jenny] Michigan out of doors is presented by.

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(intense music begins) (sparks hiss) (film reel clicks) (intense music continues) (gunshots ring) (intense music continues) (upbeat music begins) (geese honk) - [Jordan] A couple of weeks ago, I was about as far east as you can get here in Michigan to join a group of guys for an afternoon of spearfishing to learn more about the sport and some of the recent regulation changes.

- [Jonathan] So we are in Port Huron today.

We are going above the Blue Water Bridge in the southern portion of Lake Huron to target walleye with the underwater spearfishing equipment.

And this is kind of the end of the walleye run.

And a lot of these fish are making their way out of the St.

Clair River and going back to their submarine grounds in Lake Huron.

This year is 2026, and on April 1st, the NRC approved new fisheries order 219.26, which opened all of the Great Lakes to underwater spear fishing.

Lake Superior and Lake Erie were now added for game fish such as walleye, lake trout, and northern pike.

And the waters in Lake Michigan were also expanded.

So now all of the Great Lakes in Michigan waters are open to underwater spearfishing, with some exceptions.

And now you can target those game fish in those waters.

And that's what we're here to do today.

- [Jordan] The gear list needed for spearfishing is surprisingly small.

Since Michigan spearfishing is restricted to only free diving, meaning you can't use any type of artificial breathing apparatus, that eliminates a lot of the normal gear.

But there's still a few things you must have, including a good wetsuit, as the surface temperature on this trip was still in the low fifties.

- When it comes to underwater spearfishing, there's gonna be a number of items that you need to get started.

Those are gonna be, first off is the cold.

You have to get away from the cold, you have to separate yourself, and that is gonna happen with a wetsuit and gloves and socks.

I prefer, I think for the most part, five millimeter gloves, socks, and a wetsuit, hooded is very important, is probably the best all around setup.

Then you're gonna need your mask, your snorkel, and your fins.

And then you're gonna need a weight belt, anywhere from eight to 10, maybe 12 pounds depending on your body composition, to counteract the buoyancy of that wetsuit.

And then from there you're gonna need a float line and a diver down floating flag.

And the rules with that are, you have to stay within 100 feet of that flag, and then boaters need to stay 200 feet away from that flag to give you your space.

After that, you need a stringer, dive knife, and a spear gun.

I recommend a spear gun that's anywhere from 70 to 90 centimeters long, with two bands, and just a nice comfortable double wrap, and a loading pad on the back when you're going for it.

And then there is no underwater or artificial breathing devices that are permitted while underwater spearfishing.

So you cannot use those devices when you're spearfishing.

Because of that, you gotta learn to hold your breath, and dive down, and equalize your ears, and then shoot the fish all in one smooth shot, if you will.

(bubbles slosh) - [Jordan] Our first dive of the day went about as well as it could have.

Despite poor visibility, one of the divers managed to see a sturgeon and shoot a white fish, which for these guys is about as good as it gets.

- [Riley] I can't even put it into words what I just saw.

- [Brian] Was there a partner with the sturgeon?

- [Riley] I didn't even look, man.

I saw the sturgeon.

I was gonna reach out and pet him.

He was me to you away, Jordan, just eating on the bottom and I was just watching him.

We got the current pulling us.

I'm just watching him as we're going and I was just thinking like, how cool is this?

How many people can do this, or have ever done this in Michigan?

This is such a unique opportunity.

And then to get a chance at silver in the Great Lakes, these are harder to get than the lake trout in my opinion, especially in open water.

It's just, this made the trip, this made the week, if not the month.

- [Jordan] And we've only been here for 10 minutes.

- [Riley] And we've only been here 10 minutes.

What else can we do?

(Jordan and Riley laugh) - [Jordan] Clear water.

After a great start, the guys quickly got back in the water hoping to lay eyes on another sturgeon, or maybe get a shot at a whitefish or a walleye.

Jonathan was part of the push to legalize spearfishing for game species a few years back.

And although there's been lots of talk about the sport since then, participation has actually decreased over the last few years.

Something he's actively hoping to change.

- [Jonathan] In 2022 is when the first experimental underwater spear fishing season started.

The DNR opened that up, added a fishing license that required mandatory harvest, and that opened up portions of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

So Grand Haven, south to the Indiana Michigan border, and then the Southern Pier in Lake Huron, from the Thunder Bay River down to the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, which is where we're at today.

And we didn't see a ton of effort.

We've seen about 4,000 licenses issued every year, with about 200 people reporting at least harvest of one fish.

And we were seeing about 430 walleye harvested a year, with less than 20 pike and lake trout being harvested every year.

Growth has been slow.

Effort has actually decreased year after year after year.

We went from like 2,400 hours in the first year to about 1800, to about 1400 in the last two.

So it's difficult because the water's cold, the clarity can change, in just an east wind, for example.

And you have to be able to physically dive and hold your breath.

There's no scuba equipment permitted while we're doing this.

So that has been a factor with not allowing everybody to get involved as fast as they would like.

But we are seeing a lot of people showing interest.

And so now we are putting on clinics and camps that are trying to get people acquainted with the water and their own physical abilities.

And we're seeing a lot of interest from our surrounding states and countries, like Canada and Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin are all now coming to Michigan to take advantage of these opportunities, 'cause they don't have 'em where they are.

- Find clear water, you can see a little bit further and you can use that to your advantage to find these walleye.

That dirty water, you're just kinda at the mercy of where you drop, and hopefully one swims by.

That clean water, you can see that bottom structure a little bit more, and you can be like, all right, we got a bowl coming up, or we have a ledge.

We're gonna figure out where that current eddy is.

We're gonna target that.

We're gonna swim over there, check that eddy out.

Just like that happened, there was a nice little eddy, probably about 10 suckers down there.

I hate to say it, walleye are almost always mixed in with the suckers.

That's lights out.

We got two so far.

- [Jordan] 2026 brought some major changes to the spearfishing community.

Most notably the expansion of where it's allowed when it comes to targeting game species.

- [Jonathan] For 2026, the new waters that are open for walleye, lake trout, and Northern Pike are gonna be from the Indiana Michigan border up to the 45th parallel in Lake Michigan, then from the Menominee River up to the Ford River, extending out two miles, and then from Point Detour to the Brevoort River on the southern portion of the Upper Peninsula, extending out five miles.

Then from Celeron Island down to the Ohio Michigan border on Lake Erie are now all open.

And then from Round Island west to the Wisconsin Michigan border of Lake Superior is all open, with three exceptions for Big Reef, Standard Rock, and a five mile radius around Isle Royal.

When you are diving, you cannot block boater navigation with your diver down flag.

So you can't be within 150 feet of boater access or egress points.

You can't place your diver down flag or restrict boater navigation outside of, say, like a marina, you can't fish within 150 feet of boat docks or swimming areas.

So those are areas you need to avoid.

You need to also just be generally courteous to your peer anglers and fellow anglers.

It is illegal to underwater spearfish one half hour before daylight and after sunset.

And this year, with the new regulations, they also removed the ability to use artificial fish attractants, bait and decoys.

So no flasher or fish attracting devices are permitted for 2026.

- [Jordan] After a few hours on the water, the guys had had enough and were ready to head back in and warm up.

As we made our way back to the launch, they filled me in on an upcoming walleye tournament where anyone wanting to learn more about the sport of spearfishing is welcome.

- This June we have our fifth annual walleye tournament up in Alpena, Michigan.

The best part about this tournament is we have divers coming from Hawaii, Florida Keys, and all the surrounding states here in Michigan.

It's been a great funnel for everyone who wants to do freshwater fishing and spearing for actual walleye and table fair fish.

As you can see today, it's a wonderful sport that we've all gotten into, and it's kind of created a brotherly love amongst one another.

I think for us today it was a little bit sporty out there, it was a little bit cold, but we definitely made it happen.

Had some white fish, saw a lot of beautiful sturgeon as they're starting to stage up in the river, and of course walleye.

So it was a great day.

We appreciated everyone coming out.

Everyone's a little cold, so we're gonna get home as soon as we can and get warmed up.

Come see us in June.

You can go to the Michigan Spearfishing Association website if you'd like to head up to Alpena.

Novices are more than welcome.

Even if you don't have gear, our community will come together to make sure that you can get in the water and come enjoy it.

Again, June 26th and 27th.

(upbeat music continues) - [Jordan] Spearfishing isn't for everyone and safety is paramount.

If you're looking to try it out, make sure to learn from someone with lots of experience.

Thanks to Jonathan, Riley, and Brian for teaching us all a little bit about the world of spearfishing.

It was a fun day on the water here in "Michigan's Out of Doors."

(upbeat music continues) - Well, just a few weeks back, I had a friend contact us here at the show, saying they were doing a memorial fishing tournament for a local angler that passed away a few years ago.

He said it's a ton of fun, some great people, some great prizes, and some catfishing both before and after dark.

We had a great night.

(upbeat music begins) - This is the fourth annual Ben Zemaitis Catfish Tournament.

It's put on through the Marne Conservation Club, and it's something we do in memorial of a really good friend of mine that used to catfish with me a lot back in the early 2000s, and he passed away cancer four years ago.

And we just decided to to hold this tournament in his honor.

And it's growing every year, a lot of new sponsors every year, and it's a good time to do it.

The last week in May, it's always prime time for channel cats and flatheads too.

We're after some big channels, and hopefully we can tie into a big flathead tonight, too.

- [Jimmy] It's all catfish?

- [Dan] Yep, catfish, and there's a weigh in tomorrow, 1:00 PM at the Conservation Club, and there'll be lots of people there.

Lots of raffle prizes, lots of food, and lots of fish.

- [Jimmy] How many fish do you get to weigh in per guy?

Just one?

- [Dan] You can enter one channel cat and one flathead.

- [Jimmy] Okay.

- [Dan] Each fisherman - [Jimmy] Nice.

- [Dan] Yep.

- [Jimmy] This is right up your alley.

- [Dan] Yeah, yep.

I only catfish maybe twice a year these days.

and this is definitely one of 'em.

- [Jimmy] You used to go twice a day.

- [Dan] Yeah, that's a fact, yep.

- [Jimmy] Joining Dan today was his wife, Rhonda, son, Easton, and buddies, Evan Cluding and Mike Potter.

Dan has fished this river for catfish for years.

And how long do you typically sit in a spot before you move on?

Was it like 15, 20 minutes if you haven't caught anything?

- Half hour probably max, yeah.

I mean in daylight like this.

After dark, we'll wait a little longer, but if there's a bunch of, like kind of looking for active channel cats right now, and if they're down there, usually you get the active ones pretty quickly.

- [Jimmy] Dan had 50 pound line on and uses an ounce and a half to two ounce sinker, and once the rod starts to bend, well you know it's time to set the hook and start the fight.

- [Dan] Yep, put that hand up farther.

Yep.

(upbeat music continues) Just reel 'em in.

Keep cranking.

(Jimmy laughs) Keep cranking.

- Ow, off!

- [Dan] No, keep reeling, they'll run towards you too.

- I thought he was off.

- [Dan] Wanna grab me a net, somebody?

Got it.

- Oh crap!

- [Dan] You got it, don't let the pole go.

- [Jimmy] You got it, you got it.

- What did that one have?

- [Dan] Lift it up.

Reel and lift up.

Reel, reel, reel, reel, reel.

You're doing a good job.

Lift up, reel, reel, reel, reel.

- [Jimmy] Pull back away with it, okay bud?

(gentle music continues) (engine revs) (birds chirp) - [Dan] There you go, keep going.

Now he's gonna go that way.

- [Easton] What is this?

- [Rhonda] It's a good one, keep reeling.

- [Jimmy] Ooh!

- [Easton] Channel!

- [Dan] Yep, that's a channel cat.

- [Jimmy] Nice job bud.

- [Dan] Nicely done, Easton.

(gentle music continues) - [Jimmy] If you're looking for a fun fish to catch, it is hard to beat these fish in the river.

Between the size of the fish and the current, well, you are in for one fun fight for sure.

- Oh, he is upset.

- [Jimmy] I was just looking at rods to move.

Good bend in that rod.

- [Dan] Mhm.

(line screeches) - [Jimmy] Oh, oh, oh.

- [Evan] Well if it is, it's gonna win it.

- [Jimmy] Oh.

- [Easton] That's a huge one.

- [Dan] Put screws to him, Mike.

Couple more turns in the frying pan.

(fish splashes) (Jimmy laughs) - [Easton] Let's go, Potter!

- [Mike] Shoot, there we go.

That's a good one.

- [Jimmy] That's a dandy.

- [Dan] Big male.

It's kind of got the two big lobes on their top of their head.

Yeah.

Nice job, Mike.

- [Mike] Thank you.

(upbeat music begins) - Yep, the fish is gonna get up in here.

- [Jimmy] There's one.

- [Dan] Think it's a rod guy.

- [Mike] That one is feeling like it.

(upbeat music continues) - [Dan] That's good.

(fish splashes) - [Jimmy] Good fish.

(upbeat music continues) Yeah.

- [Dan] Keep that rod bent really good.

(upbeat music continues) - This is going towards the boat.

(upbeat music continues) (fish splashes) - [Dan] Hoo!

- [Jimmy] Good scoop.

(upbeat music continues) Whoa!

- [Evan] Yeah, big bad gulper.

- [Dan] Nice and dark.

He's another male.

(upbeat music continues) - Good job buddy.

Thanks.

- [Jimmy] Nice job young lady.

- Thank you.

- [Dan] No it's not, it's a fish.

- [Jimmy] It's a fish.

- [Dan] If it actually is a flathead, but it's a small one.

(upbeat music continues) (fish splashes) - [Mike] They just fight.

- [Evan] They fight some.

- [Rhonda] Good job, Easton.

- [Easton] Dad thought he was a turtle.

- [Dan] He just sat there munching on it for a long time.

Things are a little slower than expected, but we have one good channel cat, a 13 pounder.

We have a nine pound channel cat, we have a couple four-ish pounders, and then we just got our first flathead of the night.

But again, maybe four or five pounds at the most.

So we're just gonna keep poking along and hopping from log jam to log jam, and see what we can come up with.

- [Jimmy] And you said those flatheads are actually pretty good to eat?

- [Dan] Yes, yeah, their meat is very white, and it might have something to do with the fact that when they get to a certain size, they feed on mainly live fish.

And like any other fish, like a walleye or a pike, I don't know, it just, the meat is good.

A lot of people know that, but some people just would consider 'em junk, you know?

But they are good to eat.

- [Jimmy] Now how many of the people in the tournament will be fishing all night tonight?

- I'd say less than half, but there are 60 people in the tournament.

So I mean there'll be quite a few guys fishing all night, but most guys probably give it up maybe 1:00, 2:00 in the morning.

- [Jimmy] And what's your plan?

- [Dan] My plan is to fish until maybe midnight, one o'clock.

If we don't have a really good one by then, I might stretch it out a little longer, but I typically don't.

Turn this way.

I've got a lot of work to do tomorrow, too, at the weigh in, so I don't want to be completely exhausted.

- [Jimmy] Dan and the crew lasted until almost two o'clock in the morning, boating another half dozen or so fish.

Now the fish were put in a live well, and once weighed in at the tournament site, many were released back to the river.

- We have our annual Ben Zemaitis Memorial Catfish tournament.

This is an event that we did for a lot of years, I think technically 10.

But after we lost Ben, we decided to honor his memory with this event and yeah, we've had some great volunteers, a lot of great sponsors that really turn this into something really special.

- [Jimmy] It is great to see conservation clubs doing positive things in their community.

- [Chad] It takes a lot of work, but everyone has a passion for the outdoors and protecting our natural resources.

And now more than ever, it's important that we get involved in our local communities.

With the Michigan United Conservation Clubs closing their door this year, it's more important than ever that our local communities step up and do that protection on a local level.

Yeah, to make sure we get to keep doing stuff like this.

- [Jimmy] What a great event.

Honoring the life of a good friend, getting the community involved in a fun day, and night on the water.

Some really nice prizes, some great food as well.

It's what it's all about.

Good times in the water with friends and family right here in "Michigan's Out of Doors."

(gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - Thank you so much for joining us this week for "Michigan out of Doors."

Make sure you come back in the next few weeks.

We've got a lot of great things planned for you.

We'll take you to Northern Lower Michigan for some pan fishing, down to Lake St.

Clair for some of that classic bass fishing, and we'll even check out a Sturgeon festival that happened a couple of weeks ago.

If you'd like to check in with us on a more daily basis, the best way to do that is online.

- Well, that's right Jenny, online is the best way to kinda keep track of us on a day-to-day basis.

Both Instagram and Facebook are ways you can kinda see what we're up to on a day-to-day basis.

And there's lots of stuff happening around the state right now.

Get out and enjoy it, and if we don't see it in the woods or in the water, hopefully we'll see you right back here next week on your PBS station.

- [Jenny] "Michigan Out of Doors" is presented by.

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(upbeat music continues) ♪ When I wander far away ♪ The dream stays with me night and day ♪ ♪ It's the road that leads to my home state ♪ ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ Changing seasons paint the scene ♪ ♪ Like rainbow trout in a hidden stream ♪ ♪ The white tail deer and the tall pine trees ♪ ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ I am, I am a Michigan man ♪ That's where I'm from, and I'll show you may hands ♪ ♪ Lord above, I love this land ♪ I am a Michigan man (upbeat music continues) ♪ From the Keweenaw down to St.

Joe ♪ ♪ Kalamazoo east to Monroe ♪ To St.

Marie and back again ♪ I am a Michigan man ♪ I am, I am a Michigan man ♪ That's where I'm from, and I'll show you may hands ♪ ♪ Lord above, I love this land ♪ I am a Michigan man (upbeat music continues) ♪ Ah, Michigan (ethereal chime swells)