From Lake Superior to Lake Ontario, how and where to catch Chinooks — the ‘king’ of the Great Lakes

It’s 87 degrees in early April near Pine Island, Fla., and veteran fishing guide and charter captain Troy Creasy is enjoying an early-evening splash of bourbon after a long day on the water.

He’s hot and tired, his voice trailing off occasionally as he makes small talk about how he’s procrastinating “a little bit” about completing the day’s final task: cleaning his boat for tomorrow’s guide trip as owner of High Adventure Sportfishing.

Truth is, Creasy’s mind is back home in New York State. He’d rather be guiding on Lake Ontario, the freshwater oasis that’s seen a resurgence in Chinook salmon in particular in recent years.

“It’s one of the best salmon fisheries in North America, period – and that includes Chinook salmon,” said Creasy, of Oswego, N.Y., on the eastern end of Lake Ontario. “There aren’t many places that have it better. It’s a good time to be a Chinook angler on Lake Ontario.”

MORE FISHING COVERAGE FROM OUTDOOR NEWS:

New York’s 2025 Great Lakes Preview: Lake Ontario is a salmon angler’s ‘kingdom’

New York’s 2025 Great Lakes Preview: Lake Erie and its tributaries are a year-round fishing bonanza

Understand the forage to become a better bass angler

Chinook history

Chinook salmon are found in all the Great Lakes – Superior, Michigan, Ontario, Huron, and Erie – but the best fishing, at least in recent years, is in Lake Michigan and Lake Ontario.

“You can catch Chinook throughout the Great Lakes, but that doesn’t mean I’d go fishing for them in, say, Lake Erie, where walleyes are king,” said one federal fisheries official who has worked in the Great Lakes for roughly 25 years. “Lake Michigan and Lake Ontario are the best destinations. Lake Superior certainly has some, but they don’t have the consistent forage base to support them in great numbers.”

The largest of the Pacific salmon, Chinooks, which are non-native, have been stocked in the Great Lakes since the 1870s. But they didn’t get firmly established until they were stocked in Lake Michigan in 1967.

Today, the “east coast” of Wisconsin has a thriving fishing charter industry that caters to anglers from around the region who want to experience Lake Michigan’s incredible salmon fishery.

“They prospered because Lake Michigan had a large alewife population,” said Jay Wesley, Lake Michigan basin coordinator for the Michigan DNR, of the non-native herring species that Chinook eat with gusto. “We wouldn’t have the Chinooks we have today without the alewife.”

Indeed, in recent years, fisheries research scientists have gleaned additional – and important – information about the ongoing saga of Great Lakes Chinook salmon populations and the species’ link to alewife abundance.

Research by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey affirmed in particular that Chinook salmon’s growth within Lake Michigan and northwestern Lake Huron is tied to changes in alewife populations. In other words, Chinooks thrive – and sport anglers often benefit – when the prey species is abundant.

“Chinook are incredibly popular with anglers,” Wesley said. “When we have good numbers of alewives, our Chinook do well.”

Chinook catches in Michigan and Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan were outstanding last season. The solid action began early, in May, and continued until the last boats were trailered in October. There was not a week in 2024 when salmon disappeared, or stopped biting; double-digit “king” catches on charters were common.

Fighting fun

Chinook salmon are often called “kings,” and for good reason.

Wesley and others say Chinooks, which grow larger than coho salmon (size depends on the lake and forage abundance), are coveted by anglers because they’re strong, hard-running fish that can spool a reel in a hot tick if you’re not ready.

Fly fishermen who target Chinooks during their autumn upstream migrations/runs – on such storied rivers in Michigan as the Manistee, Pere Marquette and St. Joesph, as well as the Salmon River, a tributary of Lake Ontario in New York State, among other Great Lakes coastal tributary streams – say they can rip off enough line to get into your backing in a flash.

“I’ve had a client tell me that catching a Chinook salmon is like hooking a Harley-Davidson that took off screaming,” said Mark Williams, 54, owner of Silver Addiction Charters in Ludington, Mich. “Chinooks like a fight. They will fight to the death. That’s why anglers want to catch them.”

Williams, who started guiding with his father on Lake Michigan, said last year’s Chinook bite – for abundance, size and catch rates – was likely historically good.

“It was fantastic,” he said. “This year I’m hoping for the same. With the forage base, I think we’ll see some bigger Chinooks, but catch rates may go down a little. But we’ll see. A lot of factors play into it.”

While Lake Michigan is considered by many the king of king salmon in the Great Lakes, the sleeper Chinook fishery right now is Lake Superior. While Superior doesn’t have the numbers of Chinooks compared to Lake Michigan and Lake Ontario, the recent boom in cisco (also known as lake herring or tullibee) has changed their size structure – and anglers are noticing.

“It’s definitely true,” said Peter Dahl, 78, owner of Happy Hooker Charters in Duluth, Minn.

“During a typical year, a nice Chinook caught in Lake Superior would be eight or nine pounds,” said Cory Goldsworthy, Lake Superior fisheries supervisor with the Minnesota DNR. “With the cisco boom that started in 2023, last year we saw Chinook exceeding 30 pounds and some in that 40-pound range.”

What will Lake Superior anglers find this year? Goldsworthy isn’t sure. “If those big fish from last year have one more year to live, we’ll definitely see some big, big Chinooks caught this year,” he said. “If not, it’s harder to tell.”

When to fish

A lot of factors play into the Chinook bite year over year. Date of ice out, spring temperatures (air and water), current, wind direction and other variables play into it.

In general, the Chinook bite begins in May, tapers off in June, and ramps up in July and August on the big water. The upstream river runs begin in late August and early September.

Your best bet is to contact your state fisheries agency to get the best fishing information each year. Local bait shops (and certainly guides) are hubs of information.

“A lot can change from one year to the next, especially if we have a normal winter or a warm winter,” said Williams, of Silver Addiction Charters, speaking specifically about Lake Michigan.

If you go

Getting started fishing any species on the Great Lakes can be daunting.

It’s big water that can present anglers numerous challenges, from boating safety to locating fish. “Fishing Lake Superior for Chinook salmon is a lot different than fishing Lake Michigan,” said Goldsworthy, of the Minnesota DNR. “The only thing that’s the same about the Great Lakes is that they all have water.”

If you’re new to the Chinook-salmon fishing, Goldsworthy and others say hiring a guide is viable, wise option.

Guides and boat captains not only supply all the equipment (boat, fishing poles, etc.), they have decades of knowledge and expertise on how to navigate the big water and to get you over fish. Do your homework and find the best option in your region of the Great Lakes. Be sure to specify that you want to fish for Chinooks for at least part of the day.

Fisheries officials say that anglers fishing on their own need to have a boat that can accommodate the sometimes rough, mercurial waters that are the Great Lakes.

“Size does matter, but you can fish closer to shore and still be safe and catch fish,” said Wesley, of the Michigan DNR, who regularly fishes for Chinook salmon (and other species) on Lake Michigan with a 17-foot boat with 25-horsepower outboard. “It takes experience. You have to watch the weather and how conditions might change on any given day, from hour to hour. But you can do it.”

That said, Wesley said plenty of anglers hire a guide before investing in a larger boat and all the gear that’s required for Great Lakes salmon fishing. “That way you can find out if you like it or not. In that sense, it’s a good investment,” he said.

Good eats

Are Chinook salmon good to eat? They certainly are. Delicious, in fact.

Keep in mind: The colder the water, the better. That’s why guides say Chinooks caught earlier in the season – that is, in colder water – taste better and have a more pleasing texture than those caught later. The autumn runs of Chinooks in Great Lakes tributaries are easily the least palatable to eat, guides and others say. 

“They’re going to spawn and die … and they’re nowhere near as good later in the season,” said Williams on the taste of autumn river-run Chinook. 

How you handle and process your Chinooks after a day of fishing is critical. Be prepared. Bring enough coolers and ice.

A hot day of fishing can yield several fish, which means you’ll have several pounds of salmon to fillet for the freezer. Do it right. Clean your fish as soon as possible. Many guides and anglers use a vacuum sealer to preserve the fish and ward off freezer burn. Williams, meanwhile, wraps his Chinook fillets in Saran wrap and freezer paper.

“I think it works better than using a vacuum sealer,” he said.

Salmon can be prepared in countless ways, from smoking to grilling to poaching. If you’re looking for new and creative ways on how to utilize your catch, check out wild cookbook author Hank Shaw’s website.