Manistee County has “world class” salmon fishing.

While the history of salmon stocking in the Great Lakes goes back more than 50 years, the Michigan Fishery Resources Management Council states that the current fishery exists today as a result of stock rehabilitation efforts that began in the 1970s.

“There are multiple reasons why we stock fish,” said Ed Esch, DNR fish production manager. “They may be stocked to restore ecosystem balance — like the example of Pacific salmon — to provide diverse fishing opportunities, or to rehabilitate declining fish populations and preserve the environment.” . To reintroduce extinct species.”

The Michigan DNR works with the Lake Michigan Commission, represented by states bordering the lake and the Chippewa-Ottawa Resource Authority, to collaboratively manage Lake Michigan’s fisheries.

The DNR manages its fish stocks, in part, by considering the ratio of predators to prey. By measuring the biomass of invasive herring species known as Alewives — common prey for salmon — the DNR can estimate how many juvenile salmon and trout will be introduced into Michigan waters.

“The after-effects of this specific action have been far broader than simply better control of the walleye population, resulting in a world-class salmon fishery that continues to provide catch rates to anglers that far exceed those seen in the Pacific Northwest,” the DNR Press reported. launch.

To raise these fish, conservationists collect Pacific salmon eggs from “feral broodstock” that return to dams on the Platte and Little Manistee rivers, according to the DNR.

Four species of salmon have been introduced to the Great Lakes: Chinook, Coho, Pink, and Atlantic.

Chinook, salmon

Chinook are the largest salmon in the Pacific Ocean, earning them the nickname “King Salmon,” although they rarely grow to full size outside their natural range in northern California and Alaska, according to information from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Chinook were first stocked in the 1870s, but did not become established in the Great Lakes until Michigan planted them in 1967. With a growing larval population in the Great Lakes, conditions were right for this tenacious predator to flourish. Since then, these fish have become a dominant species in the Great Lakes salmon fishery, generating a multibillion-dollar sport fishery, according to the DNR.

Although Chinook are known to breed naturally in Michigan waters, the DNR still maintains a large stocking program.

Located on all the major lakes, the Michigan DNR recommends Lake Michigan for best fishing, and in various inland creeks along the lakes’ coast, including the Manistee, Pere Marquette, and St. Joseph rivers.

Chinook begin their upriver migration in late summer and can be reliably caught in many of these rivers as early as mid-August.

These fish prefer cooler water temperatures than coho salmon, and are typically caught in deeper waters in the Great Lakes, according to the DNR.

“Chinook are somewhat photo-sensitive and can be caught near the surface in low-light conditions but are often targeted in deeper water once the sun rises to the sky,” reads part of the DNR’s fishing guide.

Coho salmon

The DNR credits coho salmon with launching the Great Lakes salmon fishery.

They were among the first species to be successfully introduced into Michigan, in 1966, when juvenile salmon were introduced to the Platte River and Bear Creek.

The coho made its first spawning in the fall of the following year, and has since become a popular sport fish.

Coho typically migrate later than other salmon and travel longer distances, according to the DNR. Depending on the tributary, coho spawning can occur from early September to November.

Although natural reproduction has been documented, the fishery is maintained primarily through stocking, with the bulk of coho released into the Platte River, directly downstream from the state’s coho hatchery, according to a fish profile on Michigan.org.

While it is possible to catch coho in Lake Michigan year-round, the best fishing on the lake’s east shore occurs in early spring and again in late summer and early fall, according to the DNR.

“The fish is caught by both surf anglers and anglers in Platte Bay as a stage fishery. “Although it is caught in a number of rivers, there is a notable late October fishery in the Manistee River and migratory fish are caught in the St. Joseph Late at Christmas,” part of the DNR hunting guide reads.

Pink salmon

Known in its native Pacific Northwest habitat as the humpback salmon due to the presence of a large hump on the backs of males during spawning, this fish was inadvertently introduced to the Great Lakes in the mid-1950s, according to the DNR.

Pink salmon populations have maintained themselves ever since, slowly increasing in numbers and spreading from Lake Superior to the northern regions of Lakes Huron and Lake Michigan.

Pink salmon are the smallest salmon found in the Great Lakes and can be caught in the St. Marys River, Carp River, and Lake Huron tributaries in the southeastern Upper Peninsula.

Pink salmon typically spawn every two years, with the largest spawns occurring in odd-numbered years, according to an article on Michigan.org.

Atlantic salmon

Atlantic salmon used to travel up the St. Lawrence River from the Atlantic Ocean to spawn in Lake Ontario, but by 1900, the game fish had been extirpated from the Great Lakes entirely, according to the Michigan DNR.

“They were first successfully introduced into the other Great Lakes in 1972 when Michigan stocked about 20,000 juvenile Atlantic salmon in the Boyne and Au Sable rivers,” reads part of the Michigan DNR website.

Known for their jumping ability, these feisty salmon can be found in Torch Lake, the Thunder Bay River and the Au Sable River every spring. Atlantic salmon can also be caught in Lake Huron, the St. Marys River, and the St. Clair River near Port Huron.

Atlantic salmon eggs are collected from fish returned to the Lake Superior State University Aquatic Research Laboratory, located on the St. Mary’s River.

Fishing tips

The Pure Michigan Campaign offers the following tips for enjoying salmon:

• Chinook, salmon: Many anglers focus on low-light time periods — such as morning or evening — but others target Chinook after dark with glow-in-the-dark spoons. Artificial bait is what most anglers use to attract this species, but salmon eggs are also popular.
• Coho salmon: You will find a lot of anglers using spinners, spoons, and plugs when fishing for this species.
• Pink salmon: Anglers fishing with jigs or jigging spoons are catching big numbers or deep-water pink salmon on St. Marys in the weeks before the fish hit the rapids.
• Atlantic salmon: Anglers fish with tackle, although some anglers drift in the current down the rapids, fishing with streamers or soft plastic baits.