Atlantic Salmon in Michigan

Key features: “Atlantic salmon can be hard to identify.”

On the line: “The primary fishery is in the St. Mary's River, while the state maintains a fishery in Torch Lake (Antrim Co) with stocked fish, as well as Lexington Harbor, Thunder Bay River and Au Sable River each spring under an experimental stocking program. Atlantic salmon can be caught in Lake Huron, the St. Marys River and even the St. Clair River by Port Huron. Fall returns of spawning fish occur at each location, primarily in Oct.-Dec. Anglers troll for them using downriggers, though some anglers drift in current below the rapids, casting with streamers or soft-plastic jerk baits. In the spring, Atlantics prefer the upper, warmer layers of the lake near shore. In the summer they retreat to deeper, ”

“Salmon in the lake eat crustaceans, but seek out smelt, alewives and other available forage. While on their spawning run, they do not feed but will often strike out of aggression.”

“Spawning migrations vary by stream of origin, but the St. Mary's River run typically begins in mid-summer and runs until November when spawning commences. The female chooses a gravel-bottomed riffle above or below a pool, and digs a nest, or redd. As she lays her eggs in this depression, the male simultaneously releases sperm. Then the female pushes gravel back over the eggs. When spawning is finished the adults may rest in the river for some time and then return to the lake. Atlantic salmon can”

“Eggs hatch the following spring and emerge from the gravel a few weeks later. At that stage of their development, they stay in the stream's fast water, eating and growing for 2–3 months, or until they are about 6 inches long. Then they move downriver to the Great Lakes, where they grow rapidly, and weigh 3–6 pounds after one year. Some return to their spawning grounds after this first year while others wait an extra year or more, growing to a weight of around 6 pounds.”