Lake Michigan is home to a tremendous salmon fishery, with excellent populations of both Chinook and coho salmon. A successful summer outing can provide memories that can last a lifetime.

Salmon are cold-water fish, so at this time of year, you will need to pursue them in colder, offshore waters with a seaworthy boat. Hiring a charter boat is a great option for anyone who doesn’t have a boat or the right equipment. But where should you fish? There are dozens of outstanding choices available to anglers willing to travel; two salmon fishing hotspots that come to mind right away are Sturgeon Bay in Wisconsin and the relatively shallow waters of southern Lake Michigan, around the Indiana/Illinois state line.

Southern Lake Michigan coho

Anglers plying the southern Lake Michigan waters of Indiana, Illinois and Michigan should experience excellent action for coho salmon this summer. Salmon fishing near the southern end of this Great Lake always starts out red hot in springtime, often continuing into the warm-weather months.

Depending on prevailing weather patterns, loose schools of silver fish will be found anywhere from a few to more miles offshore. Anglers who can target multiple depths throughout the water column will be the most successful. Limit catches of coho salmon (five fish per person) are common, especially earlier in the summer.

One veteran charter boat captain who keeps a close eye on salmon movements throughout the season is Capt. Mike Schoonveld from Morocco, Ind. He has been chasing salmon in the Indiana and Illinois waters of Lake Michigan for the past 50 years, so he is an expert when it comes to coho salmon fishing.

“At this time of year, the cohos are actively feeding and they are always hungry,” stated Schoonveld. “Many lures will catch fish, but no other lure on southern Lake Michigan consistently catches more cohos in June and July than a fluorescent red or orange dodger with a trailing mylar trolling fly. Fly patterns with a combination of greens and blues, mixed with shimmering silver or gold strands, are always hot.”

Cohos will be roaming the cooler offshore waters in search of baitfish, and they usually hunt near the thermocline. A distinct temperature break at the thermocline marks this transition, and tiny zooplankton, freshwater shrimp and other organisms live in and around the thermocline. They attract schools of larger baitfish, and the baitfish attract the cohos.

Sturgeon Bay chinook salmon

Salmon fishermen who are looking for the really big fish—chinook salmon—need to head to Door County’s Sturgeon Bay in northeastern Wisconsin. This port is a traditional hotspot for trophy-sized salmon in June and July. In fact, the Wisconsin state record chinook salmon was caught out of Sturgeon Bay in 1994. It weighed a whopping 44 pounds, 15 ounces!

Salmon fishing out of Sturgeon Bay requires a boat capable of handling wind, waves and weather, because the most productive fishing grounds are located five miles offshore. Lake Michigan can be treacherous, so if you don’t have a proper boat, there are plenty of charter boats available for hire.

When heading offshore, most salmon fishermen head for “The Bank.” This famous underwater reef is actually a sharp drop-off where the water goes from 60 down to 130 to 150 feet deep, depending on your exact location. This steep, submerged cliff creates underwater currents that attract schools of baitfish and the larger salmon that prey on them.

Trollers searching for big chinooks work the edge of The Bank in a long procession of boats, utilizing downriggers and Dipsey Divers to get their lures down into the strike zone. Setting the downriggers at 60 feet is a good starting point, but experimentation is one of the keys to success. Large dodgers and flashers paired with a large tinsel fly or meat rig are some of the top baits.

Chinook salmon caught along The Bank in early summer usually tip the scales at 15 to 20 pounds, but lots of fish brought to the marinas weigh more than 25 pounds. The Sturgeon Bay area is also one of the best spots on the Great Lakes for producing Chinook salmon weighing 30 pounds or more.

If you want to try a different, exciting fish species or technique, you’ll find plenty of suggestions in every issue of MidWest Outdoors. Subscribe on our website.