About The Marsh Brief

The Marsh Brief is a field guide for Michigan and Great Lakes waterfowl hunters, written from southeast Michigan.

We started it because the information a duck hunter actually needs before a Michigan hunt is scattered. Season dates live in one place, the managed-area draw schedules in another, recreation-area closures in a third, and the rule changes — like Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge dropping its weekly drawing for 2026 — are easy to miss. National hunting sites rarely get into Michigan's zone line, Pointe Mouillee's draw days or the difference between two properties that are both called "Shiawassee."

So we put it in one place, in plain English, and we keep it current.

What we cover

• Regulations, made readable. Michigan season dates by zone, bag limits, licenses and the rules that trip people up. → 2026–27 season dates
• Managed waterfowl areas. How the Wetland Wonders draws work, area by area. → Managed areas guide · Pointe Mouillee · Shiawassee NWR vs. SGA
• Public land close to home. State game areas and recreation areas in Livingston, Washtenaw and Oakland counties and beyond. → SE Michigan public-land guide
• Big water. Late-season diver hunting on Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay. → Diver guide
• Gear and checklists that match Michigan conditions. → License & gear checklist

Who's behind it

Hi there! My name is Steve and I'm an avid waterfowl hunter from southeast Michigan. I've been chasing ducks and geese for 14 years, and most of that time I've been sitting in a blind wishing I'd checked one more thing before leaving the house.

At home it's mostly puddle ducks on the water and Canada geese in the fields around Livingston and Ingham counties, plus trips up to Saginaw Bay, the Shiawassee Flats, and Fish Point. Every year I also head down to northeast Arkansas for flooded timber and rice fields, where the ducks, specks, and snows make it a whole different game.

I started The Marsh Brief because finding the basics for a Michigan hunt, like season dates, draw times, and which rule changed this year, means digging through five different DNR pages. So I put it all in one spot. If I've hunted a place, I'll tell you what I've seen. If I haven't, I'll stick to the official info and say so straight up.

Good luck out there, and shoot straight.

How we work

Official sources first. Every date, bag limit, zone boundary and managed-area rule on this site comes from the Michigan DNR, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the Wildlife Conservation Order — never from forums or social media. Each guide lists its sources and the date we last verified it.

We say when we don't know. If the DNR hasn't published something yet (the 2027–28 season, for example), we say so and point you to the official page instead of guessing. If two official sources disagree, we tell you and suggest you call the office.

We re-check. We review the DNR and USFWS pages on a regular schedule during the season and update dated pages when something changes.

No made-up hunts. We don't invent hunting stories, harvest reports or field conditions. When we share first-hand experience, it's real and labeled as such. When we report conditions, we quote the area manager's official update and say what week it covers.

This is not legal advice. Always verify current regulations with the Michigan DNR before you hunt. You're responsible for knowing the law where you're standing.

How the site is funded

The Marsh Brief is free to read. We pay for it in three ways:

1. Affiliate links. Some links to gear, maps or retailers are affiliate links, and we may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. We'll only recommend products we'd stand behind, and every page with affiliate links says so.
2. Our own guides. We may sell in-depth digital guides, such as a Michigan public-land playbook.
3. The newsletter. The email list is free. We may occasionally include a clearly labeled product recommendation.

No agency, manufacturer or retailer reviews or approves what we publish. We're independent and not affiliated with the Michigan DNR or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Get the cheat sheet

Sign up for The Marsh Brief newsletter and we'll send you our free 2026–27 Michigan Waterfowl Season & Managed Area Cheat Sheet — season dates, bag limits and draw times for every managed area on two printable pages. We'll also email you when the 2027 regulations come out.

Contact

Spot an error or a rule change we missed? We want to know. Email themarshbrief@gmail.com.

Always verify current regulations with the Michigan DNR (michigan.gov/waterfowl) and USFWS before every hunt.

Sources

• Michigan DNR, 2026 Waterfowl Hunting Regulations Summary (Shiawassee NWR no-draw change referenced above): https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/laws/regulations/waterfowl
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Shiawassee NWR hunting: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/shiawassee/visit-us/activities/hunting