Chinook Salmon

I was walking the pups along the Rogue River in Rockford, Michigan and we saw these Chinook Salmon jumping out of the water. In the Fall they swim upstream. It took 168 shots to catch this one.

The chinook were restocked into Lake Michigan in 1966. They live in Great Lakes shoals or near-shoal waters (less than 100 foot depth(s)) as a rule. In the fall they move into the southern reaches of Lake Michigan, traveling 5-15 miles offshore as they go. In the spring they retrace their route and by the following fall, they congregate at the stream they began their journey at and begin their spawning runs upriver.

Chinook spawn in streams over beds of large gravel, near riffles. Within two weeks after spawning, adult chinook die. Chinook compete with other salmon and trout for scarce spawning grounds. The following spring the eggs hatch, and the young usually remain in the river for one year before they migrate down to the lake.

Once in the lake, males tend to remain for 1-2 years and females for 3-4 years. The average a weight is 30 to 40 pounds and 38 inches in length.

Anglers prize chinook partly because of their large size and the challenge they present for fishing, and partly because they are delicious. While other salmon species have red flesh, chinook meat is often white.