Spearfishing in Michigan. Photo courtesy of the Michigan Spearfishing Association.
(FOX 2) - Jon Durtka has been a hunter and fisherman all his life. But it wasn't until he went under the surface of Lake Michigan, wielding a speargun, that he realized what he'd been missing out on.
With hook and line fishing, an angler never sees what happens below the water when he snags a fish. But beneath the water is an entirely different world awaiting those willing to dive underneath.
How would he describe the feeling? "Literally incredible."
"Swimming with the fish — it was the most incredible thing I've done in my life," said Durtka, who leads the Michigan Spearfishing Association.
The sport is not a common one in Michigan. Just over a hundred people reported harvesting a fish each year between 2022 and 2024. Durtka has spent the last several years pushing to expand spearfishing in the state.
But not everyone is in support of expanding the sport, arguing it gives a small group of people an unfair advantage over traditional anglers.
A decision about whether to open up the Great Lakes to more spearfishing will be made later this year.
Spearfishing in Michigan
If someone wants to spearfish underwater in Michigan, opportunities are limited to two regions: the southern portions of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
First approved in 2022, the fisheries order allowed fishermen using spears underwater to harvest lake trout, northern pike, and walleye. They're permitted to do so in the waters south of Grand Haven in Lake Michigan and south of Thunder Bay River in Lake Huron.
Everywhere else is off limits.
There are other restrictions as well: underwater spearfishers can't spear any fish 30 minutes before sunrise or 30 minutes after sunset. All spearfishing must take place 150 feet away from boat docks, designated swimming areas, and other access points. Additionally, spearfishers are not allowed to use oxygen tanks and must instead hold their breath when fishing.
The current rules are in effect until March 2026. Unless the Natural Resource Commission approves extending them, they will be rescinded.
Michigan Spearfishing Association President Jon Durtka shows off a northern pike he caught. Photo via Michigan Spearfishing Association.
Big picture view:
The latest effort to codify underwater spearfishing in Michigan has emerged in two different camps.
The Michigan Spearfishing Association wants to expand opportunities to the rest of the Great Lakes and to include more species of fish. But the Michigan DNR wants to maintain the same rules while repealing both the reporting requirement and the sunset on current opportunities.
"By increasing opportunities in waters of the Great Lakes, you'll increase opportunities for participation," Durtka said.
Durtka added spearfishing leaves less behind than typical hook and line angling, removing the possibility of losing a hook or getting fishing line caught around something.
He also argues the interaction is better for fish because a spearfishers can get close to the species underneath without harming one they don't intend to keep. Practices like catch and release can often stress and inadvertently kill a fish.
"What a better experience to enjoy the fish than to not harm it and experience it a couple feet in front of your face," he said.
The other side:
Not every hunting and fishing group is in support of the measure. Also opposed to expansion is the DNR, which has argued that, without better polling of Michigan anglers and whether they support the sport, the agency believes keeping the same rules in place.
The Upper Peninsula Sportsmen's Alliance is also against the sport.
"They have an inordinate impact on the resource," said Bill Ziegler, who works with the alliance. "(It gives them) an unfair advantage to harvest the biggest and best fish."
Ziegler, who has spent 35 years working in fisheries at the federal and state level, said expanded spearfishing would allow them to harvest "way more game fish" compared to hook and line anglers.
Having that edge combined with requests to have the same opportunities as traditional fishermen is wrong, he added.
"What spearfishers wanted was to get all the Great lakes and all the inland lakes and all the species," he said. "They were pretty shameless about wanting all species in all waters - they have this attitude that they deserve all this stuff."
What they're saying:
But ask the Michigan United Conservation Clubs and they believe the vast majority of fishermen in the state are in favor of more opportunities for spearfishers.
The MUCC's governmental affairs director said they put the question toward those that attended its conference earlier this year. Of the 200 conservationists surveyed about the sport, about 80% supported it, he said.
"It's not scientific, but it is the largest formal consideration of what I'm aware of," said Justin Tomei.
The group remained neutral on the issue when Durtka first brought the issue to the NRC. Since then, it has thrown its support behind the sport. There are only a few hundred that do it and the preparation is so rigorous the MUCC isn't concerned about conflicts with traditional anglers
"It takes a lot to do this. You have to be underwater to shoot the fish. The Great Lakes are cold and its a great deal of physicality and there's a great deal of gear required," said Tomei.
Burbot fishing booms in Michigan, worrying researchers and anglers that the species is faltering
As overharvesting and invasive species threaten the coldwater fish, Michigan is proposing first-ever catch limits on burbot. Meanwhile, researchers are racing to better understand the relatively-unknown fish.
What's next:
The NRC will make a decision about the future of the sport during their October meeting. FOX 2 reached out to commissioner John Walters for comment, who replied in an email the group was "looking at expanding Spearfishing in Michigan on Great Lakes waters with areas of exception."
The Source: Interviews with hunting and fishing stakeholder groups and the Natural Resource Commission agenda were cited for this story.