Local guide · South HavenSpearfishing in South Haven: spots, seasons and rules
Updated 2026-09-04 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher
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 North Pier gives a walk-in dive in 3 to 7 m, Clay Banks at 12 m is genuine fish habitat on an otherwise sandy coast, and Rockaway at 18 to 21 m is the best wreck on this stretch. Freedive only, and the free underwater licence is mandatory — its monthly report abolished for the 2026 season.
TL;DR
- South Haven is inside Michigan's Lake Michigan underwater-spear zone, so lake trout, northern pike and walleye are all legal by spear.
- The Southwest Michigan Underwater Preserve buoys the big wrecks each season - Rockaway, Havana, City of Green Bay and Verano.
- Clay Banks in 12 m is the coast's rare hard structure: grottos, trenches and walls standing up to 5 m off a sand lake bed.
- Freedive only, free underwater spearfishing licence with no monthly reporting since the 2026 season, season June to October.
Top spots near South Haven 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 |
|---|
| South Haven North Pier | Jetty | 3-7 m | Novice, shore dive | Walk-in from the town beach at the Black River mouth | The red-lit north pier, rubble and pilings along the outer face with sand beside it. Heavy summer boat traffic; inside the underwater-spear zone, freedive only. |
| Clay Banks | Rock | 12 m | Intermediate, real fish habitat | Boat, about 1000 feet north of the Verano | Clay formations with grottos, trenches and walls standing up to 5 m off the lake bed — rare structure on a sand coast and the pick of the local hunting ground. |
| Rockaway | Wreck | 18-21 m | Intermediate, buoyed in season | Boat dive off South Haven | A 106 ft lumber schooner lost in the 1891 storm, well surveyed and the best wreck dive on this coast, with hull structure clearly readable. |
| Verano | Wreck | 15 m | Intermediate | Boat north of South Haven, buoyed by the preserve committee | A 92 ft yacht of 1925 that foundered in 1946, her two large engines and dashboard exposed. Sand covers the site in some years, so ask locally before running out. |
Is spearfishing allowed in South Haven, Michigan?
Yes, in Michigan's full form. 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. Pike may only be possessed by underwater spear from 1 July to 15 March, at 24 inches and two a day; walleye is 15 inches and five a day. Everything else holds: no scuba, no shooting in the dark, nothing within 150 feet of a swimming area, dock, boat ramp or power intake, and the free licence, whose monthly report was abolished for the 2026 season.
What is the water and the season like at South Haven?
A sand coast with a river mouth, which is why structure is the whole story here. Harbours and channels freeze January to March; the season is June to October, and visibility is best August to October after the plankton drops. The useful band for a freediving hunter is the pier at 3 to 7 m and Clay Banks at 12 m — the wrecks below that, Ralph's Barge at 38 m and Ann Arbor No. 5 at 49 m, sit under the thermocline in cold, dark water and are technical dives, not hunting ground. There is no tide; the nearest NOAA water-level station is Holland, about 42 km north.
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 South Haven: what should you plan for?
Summer boat traffic at the Black River mouth is the day-to-day risk — the North Pier is a walk-in site under a busy surface, and the rule forbids spearfishing where your flag would block boats from the launch. Sand movement is second: the Verano is covered over in some years, so a site that was there last season may not be. Third, the depth trap — this coast drops to 38 and 49 m within a short boat run, and those numbers belong to decompression diving. 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 spearfish at South Haven, Michigan?
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.
What is the best spot for a freediving hunter at South Haven?
Clay Banks in 12 m — clay grottos, trenches and walls standing up to 5 m off the lake bed, rare hard structure on a sand coast. The North Pier in 3 to 7 m is the shore option.
Are the wrecks at South Haven buoyed?
The Southwest Michigan Underwater Preserve committee buoys the big wrecks each season, including Rockaway, Havana, City of Green Bay and Verano.
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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