MDNR Report
Michigan’s pheasant season Opens Oct. 10 in Zone 1 and Oct. 20 in zones 2 and 3.
The pheasant management unit open to hunting Oct. 10-31 in Zone 1 (Upper Peninsula) includes all of Menominee County and portions of Delta, Dickinson, Iron and Marquette counties.
Zones 2 and 3 (Lower Peninsula) are open to pheasant hunting Oct. 20-Nov. 14. Zone 3 (southern Lower Peninsula) also is open Dec. 1-Jan. 1.
The daily bag limit is two, and the possession limit is four. Only male pheasants may be harvested.
$25 pheasant license
All pheasant hunters must have a base license, and some may also need a $25 pheasant license. The $25 pheasant license is required to hunt pheasants on any public lands in the Lower Peninsula or on lands enrolled in the Hunting Access Program. The following people do not need a pheasant license to hunt pheasants in Michigan:
- Pheasant hunters on private lands.
- Pheasant hunters on public lands in the Upper Peninsula.
- Pheasant hunters on a game bird hunting preserve.
- Pheasant hunters 17 years old or younger.
- Lifetime license holders.
Pheasant releases set for southern Michigan state game areas this fall
Rooster pheasants will be released on 13 state game/wildlife areas throughout southern Michigan this fall. Releases will take place Oct. 20-Nov. 14 and Dec. 1-31, coinciding with pheasant hunting season.
Release locations:
- Cass City (Tuscola County).
- Cornish (Van Buren County).
- Crane Pond (Cass County).
- Crow Island (Bay and Saginaw counties).
- Dansville (Ingham County).
- Erie (Monroe County).
- Lapeer (Lapeer County).
- Leidy Lake (St. Joseph County).
- Townline 16 (Bay County).
- Pointe Mouillee (Monroe and Wayne counties).
- Rose Lake (Clinton and Shiawassee counties).
- Stanton (Montcalm County).
- St. Johns Marsh (St. Clair County).
Find information on parking locations on the pheasant release information page.
Find hunting regulations
Before you head into the field, be sure to check the latest hunting regulations in your area by looking at the 2025 Small Game Hunting Regulations Summary. For on-demand access to this info that travels where you do, without the need for internet access, download the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app.
Questions? Contact us.
Contact the DNR Wildlife Division at 517-284-9453 or DNR-Wildlife@Michigan.gov.