> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.themarshbrief.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Late-Season Diver Hunting on Michigan's Great Lakes: Rules, Limits and Safety (2026) - URL: https://www.themarshbrief.com/great-lakes-late-season-diver-hunting-michigan/ - Published: 2026-11-11T22:28:12.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-12T13:56:44.000Z - Description: Hunting canvasbacks, redheads, scaup and goldeneyes on Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay: 2026 dates by zone, diver bag limits, boat and blind rules, and life-jacket law. - Author: The Marsh Brief - Tags: divers, Great Lakes, Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay, late season, #Import 2026-11-12 03:34 # Late-Season Diver Hunting on Michigan's Great Lakes > **Always verify current regulations with the Michigan DNR before you hunt.** Big-water hunting combines waterfowl law, boating law and real danger. We checked the rules below against official DNR pages on November 11, 2026\. This is a guide, not legal advice, and it's no substitute for boat-handling experience on cold water. When the inland marshes start skimming over, Michigan's diver hunters head for the big water: **Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair Flats, the Detroit River, western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay.** Canvasbacks, redheads, scaup, goldeneyes, buffleheads and mergansers are the birds most diver hunters are after there. It's also the most regulated and most dangerous duck hunting in the state. This guide puts the rules that matter for late-season big water in one place. It is a research-based guide, compiled from official DNR regulations and safety rules — not from first-hand diver hunting. ## Which dates apply on which water The Great Lakes don't have their own season — you follow the zone you're hunting in. For 2026–27: | Water | Zone (check the DNR line for your spot) | Duck, coot & merganser dates | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Lake St. Clair, St. Clair Flats, Detroit River, western Lake Erie | South | Oct. 17 – Dec. 13 and **Dec. 26–27, 2026** | | Saginaw Bay | Middle *or* South, depending on location relative to the M-25 / U.S. 10 line | Middle: Oct. 3 – Nov. 29 and **Dec. 12–13, 2026**. South: as above | The Middle/South line runs east along M-25 from west of Bay City through Tuscola County into Huron County, then up Willow Creek and due east across Lake Huron. Parts of Saginaw Bay's shoreline sit on each side, so if you're launching anywhere around the bay, check the **exact boundary description** on our [season dates page](https://www.themarshbrief.com/michigan-waterfowl-season-dates-2026-27/) or the [DNR waterfowl regulations page](https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/laws/regulations/waterfowl?ref=themarshbrief.com) before you go. Official pages don't spell out a zone for every launch, including spots around Fish Point. **After Dec. 13 in the Middle Zone and Dec. 27 in the South Zone, duck season is over for 2026.** The 2027 seasons haven't been finalized; the DNR's proposed 2027 openers are Oct. 2 (Middle) and Oct. 16 (South), and those are proposals only. Check the [DNR waterfowl regulations page](https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/laws/regulations/waterfowl?ref=themarshbrief.com) before you plan around any 2027 date. ## Diver bag limits Divers are where species caps matter most. Inside the **6-duck daily bag**, the 2026 limits include: | Species | Daily limit | | ----------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | Canvasback | 2 | | Redhead | 2 | | Scaup (greater and lesser combined) | **1 or 2 depending on date** — see below | | Mallard | 4 (no more than 2 hens) | | Black duck | 2 | | Wood duck | 3 | | Pintail | 3 | Goldeneyes, buffleheads and ring-necked ducks don't have separate caps in the summary; they count toward the six. **Scaup by zone and date:** - South Zone: 1 from Oct. 17 – Nov. 1; **2 from Nov. 2 – Dec. 13 and Dec. 26–27**. - Middle Zone: 1 from Oct. 3–18; **2 from Oct. 19 – Nov. 29 and Dec. 12–13**. **Mergansers** are on a separate limit: **5 per day, no more than 2 hooded mergansers.** Possession limits are three times the daily bag. The DNR's advice applies double on big water: practice identifying ducks in flight, and don't shoot if you're not sure. Hens and juvenile divers at distance over gray water are easy to misidentify. ## Boat rules for hunting from a boat All from the DNR's 2026 summary: - **Motor off, progress stopped.** You can't hunt from any motorboat or craft with a motor attached, or anything under sail, unless the motor is **completely shut off** (or sails furled) **and its progress has ceased**. - **Retrieving cripples.** You may use a boat under power to retrieve dead or crippled birds, but you **can't shoot** a cripple from it until the motor is off and forward progress has stopped. - **No rallying.** You can't drive, rally or chase birds with any motorized craft or sailboat to move them toward hunters. - **Unloaded while under power.** Shotguns must be unloaded in both barrel and magazine while the boat is under power or moving forward. You can load once you're no longer under power and forward motion has stopped. - **No sinkboxes.** The DNR defines a sinkbox as "a low, floating device with a depression, affording the hunter a means of concealment beneath the surface of the water," and it's illegal. Layout boats aren't addressed by name in the [DNR regulations summary](https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/laws/regulations/waterfowl?ref=themarshbrief.com). If you're not sure your rig is legal, ask the DNR before you use it. - **Clean, drain, dry.** Before trailering away, pull drain plugs, drain bilges and live wells, and remove aquatic plants. It's state law. ## Blinds and decoys on the Great Lakes - **First come, first served.** Any **unoccupied blind on the Great Lakes or Lake St. Clair may be used by the first person to occupy it each day.** - **Marking.** A blind on public waters must have the owner's name and address permanently attached in waterproof letters at least **3 inches high**. - **Dates.** No blind may be left anchored or attached to bottomlands of public waters **before Aug. 15 or after Jan. 16**. - **Decoys overnight.** You can't leave decoys set out between **9 p.m. and 3 a.m.** in waters of the Great Lakes and connecting waters (or in lakes wholly enclosed by public land). - **Spinners and motion decoys** are legal statewide under the summary, as long as they don't produce bird sounds — **but they're prohibited at Harsens Island (St. Clair Flats) and Shiawassee River managed areas** under the Wildlife Conservation Order. - **No electronic calls**, and no live decoys. - **Anchors and lines:** the DNR asks hunters to inspect and clean anchors, decoys and lines, and to use anchor designs that don't snag aquatic plants. ## Managed areas on big water Two of the Wetland Wonders give access to Great Lakes water: - **Harsens Island at St. Clair Flats** (ferry required) — daily draws at 5:30 a.m. and **11:30 a.m.**, 25-shell limit in the managed area, no motion-winged decoys. The DNR describes flooded agriculture, marsh and open water. - **Fish Point on Saginaw Bay** — daily draws at 5:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., 25-shell limit; the DNR notes open-water hunting on the bay is a short boat ride from the area. **Pointe Mouillee** borders Lake Erie; its manager's update for Nov. 2–8, 2026 mentioned reports of redheads and canvasbacks moving into the Detroit River and Lake Erie. See our [managed waterfowl areas guide](https://www.themarshbrief.com/michigan-managed-waterfowl-areas-guide/) and [Pointe Mouillee draw guide](https://www.themarshbrief.com/pointe-mouillee-draw-guide/). ## Life jackets: what the law requires From the DNR's [life-jacket rules](https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/boating/rules-and-regs/life-jacket-rules?ref=themarshbrief.com): - Every vessel must carry a **U.S. Coast Guard-approved PFD for each person** on board. The DNR notes the Coast Guard requires at least one **wearable** (Type I, II or III) PFD of the proper size per person. - Michigan law lets boats **under 16 feet** (and canoes and kayaks) carry either a wearable or a throwable PFD per person. The same DNR page also notes the Coast Guard requires a wearable per person. We're not going to sort out how those two read on Great Lakes water for you — check that [life-jacket page](https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/boating/rules-and-regs/life-jacket-rules?ref=themarshbrief.com) before you go, and the simple, safe answer on a duck boat is a properly sized wearable for every person aboard. - Boats **16 feet or longer** must also carry one throwable device that's immediately available. - Children under 6 must **wear** a Type I or II PFD on an open deck while underway. Michigan does not require adults to *wear* a life jacket in a duck boat. We'd strongly suggest it anyway in late-season big water, and a PFD that doesn't interfere with shooting is the one you'll actually keep on. ## Cold-water safety basics There's no regulation for this part, so we'll keep it short and plain: - **File a float plan.** Tell someone where you're launching, where you'll set up and when you'll be off the water. - **Watch the wind forecast, not just the temperature.** Big-water hunts get dangerous when wind builds against current or across a long fetch. - **Don't overload the boat** with decoys, dogs and people. Check the capacity plate. - **Carry a way to call for help** that works when wet — a waterproofed phone at minimum, a marine VHF radio if you're well offshore. - **Dress for immersion,** not for sitting still. Waders can be a hazard if you go in; a wading belt helps. - **Keep dogs safe.** Ice shelves and floating ice are hazards for retrievers too. I don't hunt divers or run big water myself, so I don't have personal wind or boat rules to add. The safety basics above are the ones that matter: file a float plan, watch the wind, don't overload the boat, carry a way to call for help, and dress for immersion. For the legal requirements, use the DNR life-jacket and boat-hunting rules cited in this guide. ## Gear that matters most for divers We're not going to pretend a gear list makes you a diver hunter, but these are the categories that come up on big water: - **Diver decoys and long-line or gang-rig setups**, plus heavier anchors for current and wind. - **Non-toxic loads** suited to larger, tougher birds at longer range. Steel, bismuth and tungsten-based shot are all approved lead-free materials in Michigan. - **Waterproof outerwear and insulated waders** for long, cold sits. - A **dry bag** for licenses, phone and electronic duck stamp. - A **spotlight and navigation lights** for running before legal shooting time. More in our [license and gear checklist](https://www.themarshbrief.com/michigan-waterfowl-license-gear-checklist/). ## After the hunt - Leave **one fully feathered wing** on every bird you transport. - Report any banded bird at **ReportBand.gov** — the DNR says that's now the only way to report bands, even if the band shows a 1-800 number. - Don't possess more than one daily limit between the field and your car, home or processor. --- **Disclaimer:** Always verify current regulations with the Michigan DNR before every hunt, including boating laws and the zone boundary for the water you'll hunt. The Marsh Brief is independent and not affiliated with the DNR. Nothing here is legal advice or boating instruction. Last verified November 11, 2026. ## Sources - Michigan DNR, 2026 Waterfowl Hunting Regulations Summary (dates, zone line, bag limits, scaup table, boat rules, firearm transport in boats, sinkbox, blinds on Great Lakes, decoy hours, motion and electronic decoys, invasive species, transport and band reporting, proposed 2027 openers): https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/laws/regulations/waterfowl — retrieved Nov. 11, 2026 - Michigan DNR, Life jacket rules: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/boating/rules-and-regs/life-jacket-rules — retrieved Nov. 11, 2026 - Michigan DNR, Wildlife Conservation Order Chapter XIII (25-shell limits and motion-winged decoy bans at managed areas): https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/-/media/Project/Websites/dnr/Documents/Orders/Wildlife-Conservation-Order/ChapterXIII.pdf - Michigan DNR, Harsens Island and Fish Point area pages: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/hunting/where/wetland-wonders/harsens-island ; https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/hunting/where/wetland-wonders/fish-point-swa - Michigan DNR, Pointe Mouillee manager's update (Nov. 2–8, 2026): https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/hunting/where/wetland-wonders/pointe-mouillee-sga/manager-update ## Free 2026–27 Michigan Waterfowl Cheat Sheet Season dates, bag limits and managed-area draw times on two printable pages. 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