Chinook Salmon
Chinook Salmon - (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
Identification tips for trouts and salmons
Length: 20 to 35 inches
Weight:3 to 15 pounds
Coloring: iridescent green to blue-green on back; sides below lateral line silvery; silvery to white underside
Common Names:king salmon, tyee, spring salmon, quinnat
Found in Lakes:Stocked in Michigan, Huron, Ontario, Erie and Superior
Many chinook salmon end their days as trophies mounted on tavern and
game room walls. In tribute to their size and character, they are also
known as "king salmon."
Chinook were the first Pacific salmon to be transplanted to other parts
of the world, but the only notable success in creating self-sustaining
stocks has been in New Zealand. A key factor in this general failure was
that, like other Pacific salmon, chinook salmon seek the stream of their
birth to spawn and die. They have apparently failed to find the right
kind of spawning streams along Lake Michigan, so continuous stocking is
necessary to maintain the chinook as one of the lake's most prized game
fish.
Chinook are generally caught by trolling. But as winter approaches and the lake becomes colder, they disappear in search of more suitable water temperatures. Some say they veer south along a route five to 15 miles offshore; others say that, unlike cohos, they simply move offshore into deeper water.
For several reasons, this salmon species is especially popular with fish management agencies. They can be released five to six months after hatching and therefore are cheaper to hatch and stock than cohos, which require 14 to 16 months. During their four- to five-year lifespan, chinooks feed on large numbers of alewifes and so put more pressure on the lake's alewife population.
copyright 2001 University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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