Chinook (King) salmon were introduced to the Great Lakes in the late 1960's...around 1967. I think Pink Salmon were introduced sometime in the 1950's...they are much less common. I don't know when Coho's were introduced. Steelheads (like their little brothers, Rainbow Trout) are native to the Great Lakes' area.
Tom
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Coho were introduced the year before Chinooks were , about 1966/67 time frame. Steelhead were introduced in the late 1800's or early 1900's as they are not native to the region. I think Lake Trout and Grayling and Brook trout are native to the region.
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Hey Jal, the other part of the story is the amount of carnage and death occured when they first opened Salmon season. I have talked to a number of people who were there - and they say that anyone with anything that would flot would go out in Lake Michigan. Well just so you know JAL, Lake Michigan is big (LOL ) and can get really nasty really quick. Folks were taking there 14 foot row boats with 5 HP engines out many miles from shore to go after these salmon. Well you can't be out on big water - with a outboard motor that's going to take you 2 hours to get back to shore. Needless to say this was dangerous at best and deadly for many.
Apparently there was one day when 11 -12 people perished becasue a gale blew in - now I don't know what force the winds were that day - but we just had a gail a couple of weeks ago and the near-shore and off-shore marine forecat was calling for 15 - 19 footers. 14' boat - huge waves - bad combo. But they were catching 20# Coho back then.
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Me and Flatrate were out fishing on Lake Michigan during that recent gale warning. Luckily for us we were on the western shore so the waves only had a few hundred yards to build.
Jim...I Fish Therefore I Am
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Web cam..can you post the url so I can look too? And can you explain why when it comes to salmon most everyone goes a bit nuts? I have seen the same thing here, our little water is nothing to compare to your big puddles but people behave just the same all the way to the ocean. SALMON causes eyes to glaze and hands to shake and fishers just want to catch and eat! lol Personally, I would rather catch a nice Clearwater b run steelhead. Judy
Judy Here's a link that also includes other web cams around the Great Lakes. http://www.skyview1.com/cams/cam_pic_lud.htm I love to catch steelhead too. They're acrobatics are thrilling for sure. With salmon I think it's the line burning runs that they take. Powerful, powerful fish! When your rod lunges down toward the water and doesn't come up. The fish is pulling so hard that it takes all you have just to get the rod out of the holder. A big angry chinook can peel off a screaming run of 300 yards or more. Sometimes they just keep going with your lure and all of your line trailing behind them leaving you with an empty reel in your hands and your knees knocking together. But when you get them turned and start gaining line on them you start to feel you have a chance. You might lose it all back several times before you finally tire the fish to the point that you can get it close enough to the boat to net it. Not every fish you catch will provide such an epic battle, but it only takes one to glaze your eyes over at the mere mention of the chinook salmon. I'm not a big salmon eater, I AM however going to pursue them until the day I pass from this world.
Jim...I Fish Therefore I Am
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Thank you guys again, I do like the cams. It is a glimps of a tiny part of the world...very different and far from where one sets. Wingnut, I think you are partically right about the salmon....they are an incredible fish, but people that have never fished them still get that glassy eyed look and strange, reverent tone to their voice, just the word salmon seems to make people different. We have fishers that fish regularly for the big steelhead, they never think twice about releasing a keeper fish, but when it comes to salmon any legal fish goes in the box! It tickles me - as I am the same way...if it is legal it is food! Baked, broiled, fried, on the grill, or smoked mmmmm good. Judy
The first salmon were coho from Washington state brood stock, and they were planted in Bear Creek and The Platte River in the spring of 1966. The first hint of things to come was when ice fisherman jigging lakers thru the ice on Graand Traverse Bay started getting some fish that they thought were 15-18 in steelhead. They turned out to be coho. The first run was the fall of 1967, and I was there with all the rest of the nuts with 12 foot plywood boats and 5hp motors. Late in the season, a bunch of these boats put in at Frankfort and went around into Platte Bay. The wind came up during the day out of the SW at 25-35kt, but since the shore of Platte Bay runs EW, they were OK til they headed home. When they came around Pt. Betsie they were looking at 12-15ft waves. Nine of them died right there. The ones with a little experience picked a crest and rode it onto the beach, then bailed out. Kings were added a few years later. Pinks were planted "accidentally" (they say) by the canadians in N Lk Huron. For some reason they had some "extras" If you want to win some bar bets, ask someone to name all the trout native to Michigan waters. Since steelhead and browns were planted here in the late 1800's, and Brookies are technically char not trout, the only native trout is Mackinaw. I was on Lk Michigan in 1967, and every year since--38 years of salmon fishing. I still love it, and I'm already getting itchy waiting for next season. I'm gonna have to start tying up some flies to scratch the itch a little. Dave---The Candyman
The administrator has disabled public write access.
Great post Dave! I really enjoyed reading that. Maybe you could feed us a steady dose to get us through the winter? The fist salmon I ever caught was a 17# coho in 1974. I was fishing on my grandpa's boat out of Ludington. What a thrill. Those ho's were berserkers when hooked. The memory is one of my most cherished. It hit a blue/silver Little Cleo 44 feet down following a fog bank out in front of the Bath House. I can't remember my zip code but i still remember all of those details from over 30 years ago, a few days before my 9th birthday. If this is a sickness, may they never find a cure.
Jim...I Fish Therefore I Am
The administrator has disabled public write access.
) and can get really nasty really quick. Folks were taking there 14 foot row boats with 5 HP engines out many miles from shore to go after these salmon. Well you can't be out on big water - with a outboard motor that's going to take you 2 hours to get back to shore. Needless to say this was dangerous at best and deadly for many.
