Species
Chinook Salmon
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha · family Salmonidae
Live · updated
The “king” — the largest Pacific salmon and the marquee stocked predator of the Great Lakes. Trolled over open water through summer, then staged off river mouths and run up tributaries on the fall spawning push. Flow and water temperature drive the river bite.
Preferred conditions
- Water temp
- 42–58°F (ideal 50°F)
- Tide
- either
- Moon
- either
- Depth
- 15–150 ft
- Active months
- Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
Best chinook salmon conditions today
Trinity River (Lewiston)
Kenai River (Soldotna)
Deschutes River (Maupin)
McKenzie River
Sitka
Pere Marquette River
Smith River
Sacramento River (Red Bluff)
Port Crescent State Park
31st Street Beach (Margaret T. Burroughs Beach)
Marquette Park Beach (Gary, Miller Beach)
Washington Park Beach (Michigan City)
Lake Coeur d’Alene
Manistee River
Skagit River
Cowlitz River
Puget Sound (Seattle)
Klamath River
Feather River (Oroville)
Kasilof River
Columbia River (Astoria / Buoy 10)
Ship Creek (Anchorage)
Rogue River (Agness)
Umpqua River (Elkton)
Lake Sakakawea (Fort Stevenson State Park)
Presque Isle State Park
Ludington State Park
Selkirk Shores State Park
Fort Peck Lake
Lake Oahe (Oahe Downstream, Pierre)
Russian River (Guerneville)
Peninsula State Park (Nicolet Bay Beach)
Sims Park Beach (Euclid)
Edgewater Beach (Cleveland)
No locations match that filter.
Regulations by jurisdiction
MI
Stale: last verified 44 days ago.
great lakes
- Creel
- 5
5 trout & salmon in combination per day (10" minimum; no more than 3 lake trout or steelhead).
Source · verified 2026-05-29
Stale: last verified 39 days ago.
non tidal-trout
- Min size
- 10"
- Creel
- 3
Michigan Great Lakes tributaries: 3 trout & salmon/day in combination. The fall king run on the Manistee and Pere Marquette is a marquee fishery.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
IN
Stale: last verified 44 days ago.
great lakes
- Creel
- 5
5 trout & salmon in combination per day on Lake Michigan (no more than 3 lake trout).
Source · verified 2026-05-29
IL
Stale: last verified 44 days ago.
great lakes
- Creel
- 5
5 trout & salmon in combination per day on Lake Michigan.
Source · verified 2026-05-29
WI
Stale: last verified 44 days ago.
great lakes
- Creel
- 5
5 trout & salmon in combination per day on Lake Michigan (Great Lakes trout stamp required; zone rules may apply).
Source · verified 2026-05-29
PA
Stale: last verified 44 days ago.
great lakes
- Creel
- 5
Lake Erie / Presque Isle: 5 trout & salmon in combination per day in season; 3/day from the day after Labor Day to the spring trout opener.
Source · verified 2026-05-29
OH
Stale: last verified 44 days ago.
great lakes
- Creel
- 2
Lake Erie: 2 trout & salmon per day (5/day in tributaries and Lake Erie, Sep 1–Apr 30 — confirm current rule).
Source · verified 2026-05-29
NTMTE
Stale: last verified 41 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 5
Eastern District: salmon (chinook and kokanee combined) 5 daily and 10 in possession. Fort Peck Lake is the region’s premier landlocked chinook fishery — confirm the current Fort Peck salmon rules before the season.
Source · verified 2026-06-01
NTID
Stale: last verified 39 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 24"
- Creel
- 2
Coeur d'Alene Lake: 2 chinook/day, none under 24". The lake's naturally reproducing chinook are the panhandle's marquee big-fish target.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
NTND
Stale: last verified 39 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 5
North Dakota: 5 salmon/day on Lake Sakakawea — the lake's landlocked chinook are a marquee fall fishery (snagging is allowed below Garrison Dam in season).
Source · verified 2026-06-03
NTSD
Stale: last verified 39 days ago.
non tidal
- Creel
- 5
South Dakota: 5 chinook salmon/day on Lake Oahe, the premier landlocked king-salmon fishery on the Missouri.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
NY
Stale: last verified 39 days ago.
great lakes
- Min size
- 15"
- Creel
- 3
Lake Ontario and its tributaries: 3 trout & salmon per day in combination (brown/rainbow-steelhead/coho/chinook/lake trout), with no more than 1 lake trout. Tributary and seasonal rules vary — confirm the water.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
NTAK
Stale: last verified 39 days ago.
non tidal
- Min size
- 20"
- Creel
- 1
King (chinook) salmon: where open, typically 1/day with a 20"+ size rule and an annual harvest record. Cook Inlet/Kenai king fisheries are frequently restricted to catch-and-release or closed entirely by Emergency Order — confirm before targeting, and release any king caught while it is closed. Alaska adjusts limits by Emergency Order in-season — check the ADF&G hotline or app the day you fish.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
AK
Stale: last verified 39 days ago.
pacific
- Min size
- 28"
- Creel
- 1
Southeast saltwater: 1 king salmon/day, 28" minimum, with nonresident annual limits — confirm the current king salmon management measures. Alaska adjusts limits by Emergency Order in-season — check the ADF&G hotline or app the day you fish.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
OR
Stale: last verified 39 days ago.
non tidal-trout
- Min size
- 24"
- Creel
- 2
Oregon: salmon seasons are set by zone and run, with frequent in-season changes — commonly 1–2 adipose-clipped chinook/day where open. Confirm the current zone rule.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
CA
Stale: last verified 39 days ago.
non tidal-trout
- Creel
- no daily limit
California North Coast: chinook seasons are quota-managed and frequently closed — the Russian River is "no-catch" for chinook (endangered). Confirm the current river-specific rule before targeting salmon.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
WA
Stale: last verified 39 days ago.
non tidal-trout
- Creel
- 2
Washington rivers: where open, 2 adipose-clipped salmonids/day on the Columbia (only 1 chinook); tributary and Puget Sound river seasons vary and change in-season. Confirm the current rule.
Source · verified 2026-06-03
Stale: last verified 39 days ago.
pacific
- Creel
- 2
Washington marine (Puget Sound): chinook seasons and limits are set by marine area and change in-season — commonly 1–2 with adults capped, mark-selective. Confirm the area before fishing.
Source · verified 2026-06-03