Chinook Salmon commonly referred to as King Salmon or Kings will make up the bulk of the catch most of the year.  They are an exciting gamefish and make excellent tablefare.  They are palegic and are readily caught with trolling tecniques.  Kings average from 2-20# with 6-15# being very common.  Kings over 20# are caught each year  and 2006 saw a handful over 30#.  Kings are noted as having a powerful run when being caught.  No other Lake Michigan sport fish can pull like a king.  Kings feed mostly on baitfish like alewifes, but have been known to eat bugs, smelt, herring and other small fish.

They have silver sides, whiteish bellies and dark greenish/blue to black backs.  They also show spots on the upper body and throughout the tail.  When the king matures it returns to the river it was born and prepares to spawn.  At this time, the fish turn a more brown color.  Males often develop a hooked jaw and their teeth become more prominent.  This time of year they can be caught in very shallow water near shore.  Below are different pics to show different colors of fish throughout the year.  They are all King salmon.  Place your cursor over the picture to see what time of year the fish was caught.

This is the Michigan DNR description of the species:

Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tschawytscha

Identifying characteristics: (Non-Native Fish) Two dorsal fins including one adipose fin, inside the mouth and gums, black, small spots on upper back and tail, 15 – 17 rays in anal fin.

The salmon family, or Salmonidae, includes the salmon, trout, and whitefishes. All are characterized by adipose fin, and have a preference for cold water with a high oxygen content, making the Great Lakes an ideal habitat.

The chinook is a fairly new variety of salmon introduced into the Great Lakes in the 1870s. Sometimes called “King Salmon”, these fish did not reproduce successfully and eventually disappeared. In 1966, Great Lakes states Michigan, New York and Wisconsin, with the help of the province of Ontario reintroduced the Chinook. Great Lakes populations of Chinook are maintained by annual stream stocking programs

Chinook 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 each of the great lakes., 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 King Salmon average a weight of 30 to 40 pounds and 38 inches in length.

Young chinook in rivers eat insects, insect larvae and crustaceans; adults in the lakes eat fish almost exclusively. In the Great Lakes, smelt and alewives make up their main diet.

Predators include rainbow trout, coho salmon smolts and fish-eating birds. The young also compete with trout and other salmon for food.

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