April/May/beginning of June –Limit catches of 20-30, 3-6lb Coho Salmon are common. Very fast action. Brown Trout and Steelheadnumbers can be very good too and we will often orient some of our gear towards large Chinook (King) Salmonas well when fishing common waters. Bags and bags of many, tasty Coho Salmon fillets!
Late June and into July – Variety time –Large Chinook Salmonand acrobatic Steelheadstarting to congregate – Cohogetting larger and good numbers can still be caught. Some Lake Trout. Best overall chance to catch all five salmon & trout species in a single trip
July/August –Prime time for large, reel-screaming Chinook (King) Salmonin the 12lb-20lb+ range. Trophy-size fish time. Single fish fillets worth hundreds of dollars alone in market price of wild King Salmon.
Sept/Oct –Transition time. The most beautiful time of season to be on the water. Offshore opportunities to catch 5-15lb, non-spawning Chinook Salmoncan be outstanding. Also best time for huge spawning Lake Trouton secret, offshore rock reefs. Some Brown Trout.
In Further Detail:
Windycitysalmon kicks off the season on Lake Michigan in April as massive schools of Coho Salmonassemble in the southern basin of the lake between Chicago and Waukegan. While these fish aren’t the kind of monsters that we tangle with later in the season, the shear numbers that you can expect to hook into and catch, sometimes in just few hours, can be truly amazing. We will often have 2-3-4 fish on at the same time and our record was 10 fish on at once!
These Coho typically run about 3-6 lbs (18″-24″) with limit catches of 20-30 fish not at all uncommon. Gorging themselves on baitfish, Coho are putting on weight quickly after a long winter and usually by sometime in June – with the numbers of Coho diminishing a little, but the catch including other species of fish – Coho can approach weights of 7-9 lbs. Windycitysalmon crews can also hook into a fair number of large Chinook Salmon and Steelhead (Rainbow) Troutduring this time of year as well when we find ourselves fishing deeper, common waters inhabited by all three species (Coho, Kings, and Steelhead). In this regard, Captain Rick will try his best to give you a shot at these other fish as well when the conditions arise.
Each spring is different though.Some seasons there are big schools of Coho off Waukegan in early April and other seasons it begins the first of May. But if there is one kind of fishing that you can count on in the spring, is excellent Coho fishing near Waukegan in May. For those seasons where we don’t yet have large numbers of Coho in April, Captain Rick will orient the spread in the direction for shallow water Brown Trout.Many April trips have resulted in outstanding hauls of big Brown Trout and if you have ever wished to exclusively fish only for Brown Trout, April is the time.
Moving into later June, the lake begins to stratify with cold water – which salmon and trout primarily inhabit – descending deeper and fish tend to be less concentrated. This time of year starts to yield more mixed catches of fish from more Coho in the 7-9lb class to the addition of more Lake Trout and Steelhead being caught in the 5-16lb range. Chinook Salmon are starting to be caught in increasing numbers as well. This is the time of year when you can expect to catch a large variety of bigger fish and the weather is often very nice too.
By July
fewer Coho are usually caught but far more and larger Chinook in the 10-20lb+ trophy class rangeas well as Steelhead (Rainbow Trout) and Lake Troutmaking up for the difference. Our catches this time of year are getting larger still both in numbers of fish caught and in size.
Starting near the second half of July and most of Augustbegins the primetime for big Chinook (king) Salmon in the 12-20lb+ rangeand is usually the most anticipated time of year on the Great Lakes overall by anglers and captains alike. Chinook (king) Salmon are the pinnacle of the Great Lakes food chain and largest of all salmon found anywhere in the world with these very aggressive fish feeding heavily ahead of their spawning season in the fall.
It is during this time when Chinook begin to stage and school several miles off of and eventually move into the home port from which they were originally released. Waukegan is one of those ports were releasing occurs.
A fair share of Lake Trout and Steelhead (Rainbow Trout) are typically caught this time year still as well as an occasional Coho and possible catches of Brown Trout. This is an exciting time to be on the lake fishing for trophy, line screaming Chinook! For most people, these fish – along with our Lake, Brown, and Rainbow Trout – will be the largest and hardest fighting fish our customers have ever caught in their lives.
Depending on several factors such as timing of the Chinook run and weather, we usually catch Chinook well into October. However, the Fall season also offers outstanding fishing opportunities for huge spawning Lake Trout on Waukegan’s offshore reefs as well as possible Brown Trout in shallow water. The Lake Trout fishing in late September and October can be hard to match anywhere in the world, offering anglers the chance to tangle with some monsters in the 15-20lb+ trophy class. It is in this regard that September and October can usually offer some unique versatility in terms of what species we choose to target on any particular day and weather can often be downright gorgeous too. Many people and even many charter captains alike overlook this fishery in the fall in the belief that the good fishing ends as the days get shorter and the air feels a little cooler. It is simply not true and Captain Rick urges you to consider coming in September and October as equally as you would any other time during the season.
As you can see, there are many different times of the season to consider salmon & trout fishing during the spring, summer, and fall. And when we don’t encounter a hot bite, fishing is still usually good, offering an exciting “mixed bag” of fish to be caught. Many seasoned Windycitysalmon customers come fishing several times each season to target specific species at their best times.
Excited? Let’s go fishing!
