Local guide · HollandSpearfishing in Holland: spots, seasons and rules
Updated 2026-09-04 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher
Holland is comfortably inside the zone that makes Michigan the only Great Lakes state with a real spearfishing fishery. Under the 2026 regulations this water is inside Michigan's Lake Michigan underwater-spear water — the MI/IN border north to the 45th parallel — so lake trout, northern pike and walleye are open here, on top of the year-round list. The coast is the seam between the West Michigan and Southwest Michigan preserves, with the Lake Macatawa channel pier as the shore dive and a run of wrecks offshore. The constraints are the state's: freedive only, daylight only, a free underwater licence with no monthly reporting since the 2026 season, and a 150 ft buffer off swimming areas and docks.
TL;DR
- Holland lies inside Michigan's Lake Michigan underwater-spear zone, so lake trout, northern pike and walleye are legal targets here.
- Pike may be possessed by underwater spear only 1 July - 15 March; pike are 24 in and two a day, walleye 15 in and five a day.
- The Holland Harbor pier in 3 to 8 m is the shore option; Crane and Barge, Fireboat and Francy are boat dives from 17 to 31 m.
- Freedive only, free underwater spearfishing licence with no monthly reporting since the 2026 season, season June to October.
Top spots near Holland and their depths
Depths are the ones published for each site; the level column is the dive, not a promise about the fish. On this coast the shallow structure is where a freediving hunter actually works — Michigan bans scuba for spearfishing, so anything under the thermocline is a dive to look at, not a place to hunt.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|
| Holland Harbor Pier | Jetty | 3-8 m | Novice, shore dive | Beside Holland State Park at the Lake Macatawa channel | Pier and revetment with rubble and sheet steel along the lake face. Inside the underwater-spear zone, so this is the shore option for lake trout, pike and walleye; surge and channel current are the hazards. |
| Crane and Barge | Wreck | 17 m | Intermediate, boat dive | Boat south of Holland | Crane from a barge tow that foundered in the 1980s, its boom bent sharply against the bottom. Recently relocated with accurate GPS; gobies and small fish pack the machinery. |
| Fireboat | Wreck | 23 m | Intermediate to advanced | Boat off the Saugatuck coast | Scuttled fireboat sitting upright and compact enough to cover in one dive, with mild current and better light than the deeper barges nearby. |
| Francy | Wreck | 31 m | Advanced, cold and dark | Boat south-west of Holland | A 43 ft restored sailing vessel that burned and was towed out in the early 1990s, now mostly scattered with the keel as the main feature. |
Is spearfishing allowed in Holland, Michigan?
Yes, in the fullest form Michigan offers. The 2026 rules opened the whole Michigan Lake Michigan shore up to the 45th parallel, so the game fish are on the table here; Grand Traverse Bay and the November closures at the ports of Grand Haven, Muskegon and Whitehall/Montague are cut out of that water. Season and size rules still bite: pike is in possession by underwater spear only from 1 July to 15 March, at 24 inches and two a day, and walleye is 15 inches and five a day. Lake trout limits vary by management zone, so check the DNR's lake trout table for the zone you will dive rather than assuming a number.
What is the water and the season like at Holland?
Open lake in front, a drowned river lake behind, and a dredged channel joining them at Lake Macatawa. Harbours and channels freeze January to March; the season is June to October and visibility is best August to October. The depth spread is unusually useful: pier structure in 3 to 8 m where a freediver can work all day, while the Francy at 31 m and the North Shore Tug at 46 m are cold, dark, below-thermocline dives that no breath-hold hunter should plan as hunting ground. There is no tide, and the NOAA water-level station is in town, about 400 m away — so for once the local gauge is genuinely local.
What can you spear here, and what is off limits?
Michigan's Bow & Spear Fishing table — the Fisheries Order under NREPA Part 487 — is an enumerating list: what it does not name, you may not spear. Under the 2026 regulations this water is inside Michigan's Lake Michigan underwater-spear water — the MI/IN border north to the 45th parallel — so lake trout, northern pike and walleye are open here, on top of the year-round list. Lake trout, northern pike and walleye are on the table here, pike in possession only from 1 July to 15 March. Under it runs the year-round all-waters list, from bowfin and burbot through carp, catfish, drum, gar, smelt and suckers to lake whitefish and cisco. Bass, yellow perch, salmon and every trout but lake trout are on no spear list; lake sturgeon is never a target. Pike are 24 in and two a day, walleye 15 in and five; lake trout limits are zone-specific.
Do you need a licence to spearfish in Michigan?
Yes, and twice over. First the ordinary Michigan all-species licence: $26 resident annual, $76 nonresident annual, $10 daily, $11 resident senior, required from age 17, licence year 1 March to 31 March. Then the document most visitors miss — anyone spearfishing underwater must be issued a free annual underwater spearfishing licence, and it is still mandatory, though the monthly effort-and-harvest reports it used to carry were abolished for the 2026 season. That licence is a legal condition of the fishery, not a courtesy.
Safety and gear at Holland: what should you plan for?
The channel at Holland State Park is the busiest thing on this coast in July and August, carrying current, surge along the pier face and constant recreational traffic. Michigan's rule reflects that: no spearfishing where a diver-down flag would restrict navigation or access to a launch, and 150 feet clear of swimming areas and docks — at a state park beach that buffer is a real constraint. Offshore, cold ends the day: the deeper wrecks sit under the thermocline. Cold is the constant: fresh water that stays cold below the first few metres, with the deeper sites under the thermocline. Tow a diver-down flag — but the rule forbids spearfishing where that flag would block boat navigation or access to a launch, and keeps you 150 feet off swimming areas, docks, boat access sites and power intakes, from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise. The gear is freediving gear, thicker than a sea diver expects: scuba and rebreathers are banned, so the whole day is breath-hold in fresh water that warms only at the surface, and a 7 mm suit or a hooded two-piece is the baseline for a June–October season, with gloves and boots for pier rubble and wreck steel. Legal gear is a hand-, rubber- or spring-propelled spear; a rubber or spring spear may be fired only fully submerged and must be tied to a line no longer than twenty feet, with the bands off and the safety on whenever you move between areas or enter and leave the water.
FAQ
Can you spear lake trout at Holland, Michigan?
Yes. The 2026 rules opened the whole Michigan Lake Michigan shore up to the 45th parallel, so the game fish are on the table here; Grand Traverse Bay and the November closures at the ports of Grand Haven, Muskegon and Whitehall/Montague are cut out of that water. Lake trout limits are zone-specific, so read the DNR table before the dive.
When is northern pike open to underwater spear in Michigan?
1 July to 15 March for possession, closed through the spring spawn. Minimum size 24 inches, two a day.
Is there a shore dive at Holland?
Yes — the Holland Harbor pier and revetment at the Lake Macatawa channel, rubble and sheet steel in 3 to 8 m, entered beside Holland State Park. Watch the surge and the channel current.
Which Michigan waters are open to the underwater spear in 2026?
Michigan's 2026 underwater-spear waters are named lake by lake: Lake Michigan from the MI/IN border to the 45th parallel, a 2-mile strip in Green Bay to the Ford River mouth, a 5-mile strip from Point Detour to the Brevort River, Lake Huron from the Thunder Bay River pier at Alpena south to Fort Gratiot Light, Lake Erie to the Celeron Island line, and Lake Superior to the St. Marys River — with Grand Traverse Bay, Stannard Rock, Big Reef and the 4.5-mile ring round Isle Royale cut out of them. Under the 2026 regulations this water is inside Michigan's Lake Michigan underwater-spear water — the MI/IN border north to the 45th parallel — so lake trout, northern pike and walleye are open here, on top of the year-round list.
Can you scuba dive and spearfish in Michigan?
No. Artificial breathing devices such as scuba and rebreathers are prohibited while underwater spearfishing, and the diver must be fully submerged to fire a rubber- or spring-propelled spear. Michigan's underwater fishery is freedive only.
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