Anglers can look forward to better fishing for northern pike and muskellunge in future years. New rules recently adopted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources are expected to improve the size and abundance of both species in various state waters.

“Pike anglers were requesting larger fish,” said Kregg Smith, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources fish biologist who spearheaded a five-year review of pike and muskie regulations, which included public input. “With muskie, the problem was high levels of exploitation. We’re looking to provide more opportunity to fish for them.”

The new rules go in place for the 2013 fish season. They will:

• Reduce the muskellunge possession limit from one per day to one fish per season.

• Require anglers to obtain free muskellunge harvest tags.

• Reduce the daily limit on pike waters with no size limits to only one over 24 inches as part of a five-fish limit.

• Eliminate the 30-inch minimum size limit for pike on the eight waters that have that restriction.

• Create a 24- to 34-inch slot size limit and a two-fish limit on six waters where anglers may keep pike that are larger or smaller than those sizes.

Organized muskie and pike anglers supported the move. They say the changes were needed.

“I am in favor of it, even though it’s a compromise,” said Joe Bednar, an avid northern pike angler from Battle Creek. Bednar was a member of the DNR’s warm water steering committee, the group that developed the new regulations.

“I would like to have seen nothing over 24 inches allowed on lakes that have no minimum size. If we really wanted to make improvements, we would be keeping only the small ones and allowing the big fish to go.”

Bednar called the one muskie per season rule “a landmark decision” and said he was “thrilled” about it.

Will Schultz, of Grand Rapids, agrees. Schultz is the president of the Michigan Muskie Alliance and a member of the DNR’s steering committee.

“You have legacy moments in life, and this is one of them,” Schultz said.

“This is the greatest impact we will ever have on the state muskie population.”

Muskies are one of Michigan’s most prized game fish and its largest predator fish species. They are aggressive and are tough to land. But they are slow to mature and reproduce. Many have been caught and taken out of the population before they were old enough to spawn, Schultz said. Limiting anglers to one a season will leave more to grow up and produce more muskies.

“The problem has been overharvest on many waters,” Schultz said. “All of it was legal.”

Muskies grow faster in certain waters and may be the legal size before they are ready to spawn.

Biologists recommend anglers harvest no more than 5 percent of the muskie population in order to maintain a quality fishery, but a two-year study of tagged muskie conducted on the Lower Antrim Chain of Lakes by the DNR found anglers were keeping 30 percent of the population.

“This (one per season limit) is a great conservation move for the state (and) is likely to increase tourism,” Schultz said.

Email Howard Meyerson at howardmeyerson@gmail.com or follow him on Facebook, Twitter at twitter.com/hmeyerson and at howardmeyerson.com.

