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A sandy forest road runs straight between hardwoods in red, orange and yellow leaf, with fallen leaves scattered across the ground.
Michigan Hunt & Fish Autumn 2026 · The Fifteenth
A forest road in the Huron-Manistee National Forests on Oct. 23, 2024, as the fall color fades. Illustrative; not taken on an opening day. USFS photo by Katie Racie. USFS photo by Katie Racie, Huron-Manistee National Forests, public domain
Cover Story · Hunting

The fifteenth, the date Michigan built a deer season around

In 2026 the opener falls on a Sunday, in the first season after the Natural Resources Commission rewrote the rules around it.

Words by MHF Staff
Begin reading A 11-minute read

From the Field

The Daily Desk · Updated 6:27 PM
All news
A sandy road runs between tall red pines, with orange saplings on the left and a snow-covered bank on the right. EXPLAINER Hunting · Statewide · 1 hr ago December, in brief The December firearm and muzzleloader seasons now run three days from Friday, Dec. 4, the late antlerless season follows on Dec. 7, and nothing here says when the ice is safe.
December, in brief
A whole deer in the kitchen, from the cuts to the freezer Lifestyle · Statewide
Reading a Michigan river’s type before you fish it Fishing · Statewide
Bait splits by peninsula and deer disease rules by county Hunting · Mid-Michigan
All news

In This Issue

Autumn 2026 · The Fifteenth swipe
Typographic card: Two weeks before the deer opener, day by day 02Hunting · Guide Two weeks before the deer opener, day by day Typographic card: The limited firearm zone is gone from the Lower Peninsula 03Hunting · Explainer The limited firearm zone is gone from the Lower Peninsula
01 Hunting · Guide Which deer licenses you actually need in 2026 The choice at the counter, a single license or a combo, decides how many antlered deer you may take all year, and the universal antlerless license now carries a use limit by county or Upper Peninsula DMU. 02 Hunting · Guide Two weeks before the deer opener, day by day A dated plan for Nov. 1 to 14: the tag, permission, the stand and the range day, and from Nov. 10 a quiet period that changes what can ride in the truck. 03 Hunting · Explainer The limited firearm zone is gone from the Lower Peninsula Since Sept. 12 every legal firearm may be used across the Lower Peninsula, and the definition of a legal firearm, the orange rule, the safety zone and posted township closures still apply. 04 Gear · Review A straight-wall deer rifle after the zone, judged by others’ tests Michigan Hunt and Fish tested nothing; the research found two published gel tests of the straight-wall rifle cartridges, one from a site that sells .450 Bushmaster uppers, and no Michigan shot-distance data. 05 Hunting · Explainer Bait splits by peninsula and deer disease rules by county The Lower Peninsula bans bait, the Upper Peninsula limits it, the DNR says the feeding rules may change at the NRC's Nov. 12 meeting, and CWD rules follow county and township lines. 06 Hunting · Guide Opening week on public land, where everyone else is State forest, game area, national forest, Commercial Forest and HAP land each set their own rules for stands, blinds and vehicles, and the DNR's MiHunt map shows which is which. 07 Fishing · Explainer Reading a Michigan river’s type before you fish it Type 1 and 2 streams closed to all fishing on Sept. 30, Type 3 and 4 streams stay open, and a river in none of the lists, booklet or Fisheries Order, runs on a rule of its own. 08 Fishing · Feature Seven rivers open to steelhead in November, and the rules on each From the flies-only water above Gleason's Landing to the closed apron below Foote Dam, stream type, limit and tackle change river by river, and the special lure rules on four of the seven end Nov. 15. 09 Gear · Review Foam, inflatable or float coat on a cold-water walleye boat No independent cold-water test of inflatable life jackets was found, so this research-based guide sets Michigan's carriage law and the label beside the pool tests that exist and what each one left out. 10 Hunting · Feature The fifteenth, the date Michigan built a deer season around In 2026 the opener falls on a Sunday, in the first season after the Natural Resources Commission rewrote the rules around it. 11 Hunting · Guide Once the deer is down, the tag, the report and the cooling Michigan gives a hunter 72 hours from harvest to report a deer, less if it changes hands first, and the county it fell in decides where its head can be tested. 12 Conservation · Guide How to give a deer away Hunters Feeding Michigan takes deer at 16 listed processors at no cost to the hunter, if the deer arrives whole, tagged, reported and field-dressed, and tested when it comes from a CWD or TB county. 13 Lifestyle · Explainer A whole deer in the kitchen, from the cuts to the freezer The federal chart puts venison at 160 F, aging is optional and may suit an older deer, and the CDC's advice on CWD comes with hedges worth keeping. 14 Hunting · Guide Deer season’s second half, through Thanksgiving week The regular firearm season runs through Nov. 30 with Thanksgiving inside it, and on Dec. 1 the calendar turns to late archery, with two familiar late seasons gone for 2026. 15 Fishing · Guide Walleye limits change between Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay stay open through November under different walleye, perch and pike limits, and muskie possession on the St. Clair system runs to Dec. 31. 16 Fishing · Destination Where the Big Manistee leaves Tippy Dam The DNR's page for Tippy Dam Recreation Area lists a rustic campground open all year and a Recreation Passport requirement; the river from the dam to the railroad bridge below M-55 is Type 3 water with a limit of one rainbow trout. 17 Fishing · Guide Presque Isle Park, where Marquette says anglers take fall whitefish The City of Marquette says anglers concentrate on spring and fall whitefish, Lake Superior's limit is 10 in any combination plus up to 10 more round whitefish, and the Army Corps' pier precautions on file date from 2019. 18 Conservation · Explainer Michigan’s deer in the record, from 1859 to this November From the first season limit in 1859 to a live count of reported harvests, what the DNR's numbers and archival pictures can and cannot tell a reader. 19 Destinations · Explainer Public land for November, by region, with its managers Five regional lists name a selection of the forests, refuges, lakeshores, parks and game areas that their managers' own pages support, each with its agency and the access rule its page states, where it states one. 20 Hunting · Explainer December, in brief The December firearm and muzzleloader seasons now run three days from Friday, Dec. 4, the late antlerless season follows on Dec. 7, and nothing here says when the ice is safe.
From the Tailgate · A letter from the editor

One morning, thirty days

Michigan sets its firearm deer opener on a date, not a Saturday. This year the date is a Sunday, and the fifteenth is one morning. November is thirty days. That is the idea behind the first issue of Michigan Hunt and Fish: the two weeks of preparation before the opener, the opening week, the long second half when the crowd goes home, and the water, which does not close for deer season. Steelhead are in the big West Michigan rivers all month, the Detroit River and Saginaw Bay hold their last open water for walleye and perch, Lake St. Clair's muskellunge run to the end of December, and whitefish come inshore along Lake Superior.

Every regulation in this issue was read from the 2026 DNR summaries, the 2026 Fishing Regulations, the Fisheries Orders and the land agencies' own pages, and each piece names the document it rests on and where the rule applies. Where a page does not answer a question, the piece says so and names the office to call. Nobody on this edition hunted, fished, cooked or tested gear for it; the two gear pieces say that in their first paragraph and credit every test to the people who ran it. The stories were researched and drafted with AI assistance under the editors' direction, checked by a separate reviewer against the sources named, edited, and approved for publication by the publisher.

What we hope a reader can do after this issue: walk into the license sale knowing which tags they need, plan the two weeks before the fifteenth around the things that actually go wrong, hunt public land knowing who manages the ground, handle and report a deer within the rules of the county it fell in, fish November's open water in the right places with the right understanding of cold water, and know what December asks before the ice comes.

Corrections go to the editors; the correction log on each story records what changed and when.

MHF Staff Editor, Michigan Hunt & Fish Read the letter
“The primary deer seasons in Michigan have traditionally consisted of the archery seasons (October 1-November 14 and December 1-January 1), the regular firearm season (November 15-30), and the December muzzleloading season.”
From “The fifteenth, the date Michigan built a deer season around”

Worth Saving

Guides, tested gear, and camp recipes
Typographic card: Which deer licenses you actually need in 2026 GUIDE Beginner · Reviewed Oct 30, 2026 Which deer licenses you actually need in 2026 A wet paved road with a double yellow centerline curves away through yellow maples and dark evergreens, with leaves along the shoulder. GUIDE Beginner · Reviewed Oct 30, 2026 Opening week on public land, where everyone else is Gray waves roll toward a sandy shore under an overcast sky, with a low far shore and a plant on the horizon. GUIDE Intermediate · Reviewed Oct 30, 2026 Walleye limits change between Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay
Free · Pick one or both

Two letters from up north

Partner of the Season The Conservation Desk is made possible this autumn by Our partners fund the reporting. They never write it. Partner with us
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