The Detroit Riverfront filled with anglers this week for the seasonal walleye run. The spring spawn moves fish up from Lake Erie into the Detroit River system, and the early-May window is the peak.
The run is a Detroit ritual that long predates the Riverwalk's modern form. Anglers line the seawalls, the docks, and the breakwaters from Belle Isle down through the riverfront parks for roughly six weeks each spring. Limits are five fish a day per licensed angler with a 15-inch minimum.
Milliken State Park is the most consistent shoreline access. Riverside Park, in Mexicantown, is the second. Belle Isle has access on the south shore and at the lighthouse. The downtown Riverwalk, between the GM Renaissance Center and Joe Louis Greenway, has been the most-photographed stretch this week because the fishing was working.
The Detroit River walleye fishery is one of the strongest in the Great Lakes. The Michigan DNR estimates the western Lake Erie spawning population at over ten million adult fish, and a meaningful portion runs the Detroit River each spring. The run is what brings the fishing tournaments to Lake Erie's western basin every May.
The Riverfront Conservancy has not posted formal angler counts. WXYZ's coverage this week put the crowd at the breakwaters in the high hundreds across the Riverwalk's most-used spots. The conservancy's daily walks counted comparable spring densities last year.
The river is also the binational border. Canadian anglers fish the Windsor side at Sand Point and Reaume Park, and the Ontario walleye season opened May 2. Cross-border boat traffic during the run is heavier than at any other time of year.
The run will hold for another two to three weeks. Then the spawn ends and the fish drop back to the lake.
