Lake Michigan is fantastic for Salmon fishing. Living in Chicago, and having an uncle with a boat, made it possible for me to have many happy memories of fishing with my father and great uncle.

The lake is the third largest of all the North American Great Lakes, and the sixth largest lake in the entire world. Because of the lake’s depth, salmon thrive in its waters. On average the lake runs about 279 feet deep and, almost reaches 1000 feet in the deepest parts!

Last year my great uncle passed away from cancer.  I went to visit him before he died, and we remembered back to all the times that he had taken me salmon fishing on his boat. Going out on his boat is one of the most clear and  happy memories that I have of childhood. Fishing is like that.

My uncle had a large V-bottom boat with a below deck kitchen, sleeping area, and a small bathroom.  I can’t remember the make or anything like that, but it sure was a blast to sail!

Types of Salmon

Our primary purpose was to bag some keeper fish, namely the various types of Salmon that thrive in the deep cold waters of Lake Michigan.  We would set out from Burns Harbor in quest of the big salmon.

Coho were one of the smaller species of salmon that we would catch, with the mature adults averaging 28 inches long and 7 to 15 pounds. They still fight well, but there are bigger fish!

We would also catch rainbow trout, or what we called Steelhead, which from what I understand are the ocean going form, and are thus called Steelhead.

Without a doubt the biggest prize that we were after was the Chinook Salmon, also known as the King salmon. The Chinook “King” Salmon is the largest species of fish in the salmon family.

These bad boys are no joke, with the adult fish ranging in size from 30 to 45 inches in length, and weighing in between 15 to 60 pounds, with some fish exceeding 100 pounds. That’s a lot of fight let me tell you!

My Most Memorable Salmon Catch

One time I hooked into a monster King Salmon. It hit hard and ran like the wind. The reel was screaming and I was getting down to the knot.
My uncle had to turn the boat around so that I could recover some line. No sooner had I regained some line on my reel when he took off again.

My uncle had to turn the boat around once again.

The third time the fish came out of the water and danced along the top of the water on his tail for what seemed like one hundred feet.  It was amazing to see, and even a bit intimidating, the darn thing was just about as tall as I was!

After over an hour of this back and forth I finally landed the monster.  It was huge, the largest fish I’ve ever caught still to this day.

Storms on the Great Lakes

Lake Michigan is a lot like the ocean when a storm comes up. I remember several times when we had to hurriedly pack up the fishing equipment and high-tail it back home.

It was amazing how fast things could change on the lake. It could be nice and calm one minute, and then a few moments later you would feel a cold wind, and then all of a sudden, whitecaps would be slapping hard against the boat.

Fishing Equipment

We would use down-riggers to bring our lures to the depth necessary to catch fish. Most of the time the fish would run deep, except in the spring when you could find fish at about 15 feet. J-plug lures were the standard. Orange and green were the best colors to use.

We also would use heavy fishing rod and reel combos.  The average rod would just simply snap if you hooked a good one – and chances were, you most likely would. The fish finder was a must. It’s a big lake, and without this piece of equipment, I don’t think that we would have caught so many fish.

The Chicago Skyline

On time we sailed across the southern tip of the lake from Burns Harbor in Indiana all the way to Chicago. We arrived at twilight just when the sun was setting behind the buildings.

The lights after dark were incredible.  I had been downtown many times, but the view from the lake was quite impressive, even to a seasoned Chicagoan.

If you come to Chicago, be sure to do some Salmon fishing on the lake!