19 species named: brook trout, brown trout, channel catfish, chinook salmon, coho salmon, crappie, cutthroat trout…
Read at Oregon ODFWChinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
8 of 29worth the trip today
Best right now at Selkirk Shores, New York. Water is inside the 42–58° range chinook salmon like at 10 of the 13 spots with a live reading.
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Go 2Worth the trip 6Marginal 12Sit it out 4Click to zoom in, drag to move, right-click to zoom out
Where chinook salmon score best right now
About chinook salmon
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.
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, family Salmonidae.
Chinook salmon, spot by spot
All 24 spots with chinook salmon in season, scored for chinook salmon, best first.
Puget Sound (Seattle)King County, WashingtonChinook salmon
55° water · 5 mph wind · outgoing tide
71Worth the trip
Lake Sakakawea (Fort Stevenson State Park)McLean County, North DakotaChinook salmon
12 mph wind
68Marginal
31st Street Beach (Margaret T. Burroughs Beach)Cook County, IllinoisChinook salmon
15 mph wind
63Marginal
Marquette Park Beach (Gary, Miller Beach)Lake County, IndianaChinook salmon
59° water · 15 mph wind
48Sit it out
Washington Park Beach (Michigan City)LaPorte County, IndianaChinook salmon
59° water · 10 mph wind
48Sit it out
Not scored today
5 other spots where people fish for chinook salmon: 5 closed to chinook salmon or out of season today.
The water they want
Chinook salmon feed from about 42° to 58°F and best near 50°. Each pin is one spot’s water right now, from NOAA and USGS gauges; 10 of 13 are inside the range.
ideal 50°
42°58°
How they feed
- Water42–58°F, best near 50°
- TideEither, as long as it moves
- MoonEither
- DepthUsually 15–150 ft
- Active monthsApr–Oct
Scored against their own temperature range and tide preference first, then wind, weather and warnings. Solunar periods only break ties. How the score works
Keep or release
- Alaska28" minimum · 1 a daySoutheast Alaska salt water: kings under 28" may not be kept. Bag, possession and annual limits for kings 28" and longer are set each year by emergency order, and nonresidents must record each one. Alaska changes limits by Emergency Order in season, so check the ADF&G emergency orders the day you fish.Pacific waters · verified Oct 18, 2026 · source · 8 days since checked
- Alaska non-tidal20" minimum · 1 a dayKing salmon fishing in the Kenai River, the Anchorage area and most Kenai Peninsula fresh water is closed in 2026 by emergency order. Do not fish for kings, and release any you hook immediately. Alaska changes limits by Emergency Order in season, so check the ADF&G emergency orders the day you fish.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 18, 2026 · source · 8 days since checked
- Californiano harvestCalifornia: salmon may be taken only on the river reaches and dates listed in the special regulations; every other inland water is closed to salmon. Klamath, Trinity and Central Valley seasons are set each spring and can close in-season, and a North Coast Salmon Report Card is required on the Klamath, Trinity and Smith.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Idaho non-tidal24" minimum · 2 a dayIdaho Panhandle Region (Coeur d'Alene Lake): 2 landlocked chinook a day, none under 24". The lake's naturally reproducing chinook are the region's big-fish target.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Illinois10" minimum · 5 a dayIllinois Lake Michigan: trout and salmon 10" minimum, 5 a day singly or in aggregate; lake trout no more than 2 a day.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Indiana14" minimum · 5 a dayIndiana Lake Michigan and tributaries: 14" minimum, 5 trout and salmon a day in total, no more than 3 of them lake trout.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Michigan10" minimum · 5 a dayMichigan Great Lakes: 10" minimum, 5 trout and salmon a day in any combination, no more than 3 of any one species except up to 5 coho, chinook or pink salmon. Open all year.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Michigan10" minimum · 5 a dayMichigan Type 1 trout streams: open the last Saturday in April through Sep 30; 5 trout and salmon a day, no more than 3 of them 15" or longer. Salmon 10" minimum.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Montana Eastern District5 a dayEastern District: 5 salmon (chinook and kokanee combined) a day, 10 in possession.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- New York15" minimum · 3 a dayLake Ontario and the Lower Niagara: 15" minimum (21" for rainbow trout and steelhead), 3 trout and salmon a day combined, no more than 2 rainbow trout or steelhead. In Lake Ontario tributaries rainbows must be 25" and only 1 rainbow and 1 brown may be kept.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- North Dakota non-tidal5 a dayNorth Dakota (2026–28 proclamation): 5 salmon a day, 10 in possession. Snagging, archery and spearing for salmon are allowed Sep 25–Oct 31 on Lake Sakakawea from Garrison Dam up to the Highway 23 bridge near New Town.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Ohio12" minimum · 2 a day (Jan 1–May 15, Sep 1–Dec 31); 12" minimum · 5 a day (May 16–Aug 31)Lake Erie and the full length of its tributaries: 12" minimum, trout and salmon combined. 2 a day Mar 1–May 15, 5 a day May 16–Aug 31, 2 a day Sep 1–Feb 28.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Oregon2 a dayOregon: In the aggregate: 2 adult salmon or steelhead a day and 20 a year on the Combined Angling Tag (hatchery fish on Hatchery Harvest Tags do not count), plus 5 jack salmon a day. Chinook jacks are 15–24", adults over 24"; coho jacks 15–20". Salmon under 15" count as trout, except coho. Chinook are open only where a zone exception lists them, and wild chinook seasons are set each year.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Pennsylvania15" minimum · 3 a day (Jan 1–Apr 2, Sep 7–Dec 31); 15" minimum · 5 a day (Apr 3–Sep 6)Rainbow trout (steelhead) and salmon: 15" minimum, 3 a day combined. Lake Erie, Presque Isle Bay and all tributaries. All trout and salmon combined: 5 a day from 8 a.m. on the trout opener (the first Saturday in April; Apr 3 in 2027) through Labor Day, 3 a day after. Tributary streams are closed to trout fishing from 12:01 a.m. on the Friday before the opener until 8 a.m. on opening day.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- South Dakota non-tidal5 a daySouth Dakota: 5 trout and salmon a day combined, 10 in possession. Lake Oahe is the state's landlocked chinook fishery.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Washingtonno harvestWashington: every river is closed to salmon unless the special rules list a season for that reach. Limits, minimums and which salmon must be released change by reach and date, and emergency rules often adjust them in season.Non tidal trout waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Washington2 a dayWashington marine areas: salmon seasons, minimums and which species must be released are set separately for each marine area and sub-area, and change in season. Puget Sound areas are mostly 2 salmon a day with a 22" chinook minimum when chinook are open.Pacific waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Wisconsin10" minimum · 5 a dayWisconsin Lake Michigan and Green Bay: 10" minimum, 5 trout and salmon a day in total, lake trout included. Open all year, except no lake trout season on the Mid Lake Reef Complex. A Great Lakes trout and salmon stamp is required.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
Rules change, and they differ by state and often by water. Each spot page shows the limits for its own water. Chinook salmon are fished at spots in 12 states: Alaska, California, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington.
Waters with their own rules
These waters set limits for chinook salmon that differ from the rest of their state.
Reports that mention chinook salmon
3 state agencies named chinook salmon in their latest reports, newest first, linked to the source.
10 species named: channel catfish, chinook salmon, coho salmon, crappie, lake trout, largemouth bass, muskellunge…
Read at Indiana DNR11 species named: brook trout, brown trout, chinook salmon, crappie, lake trout, largemouth bass, muskellunge…
Read at New York DECFished in the same water
Species people target at the same spots as chinook salmon, and how they’re doing today.
SteelheadOncorhynchus mykiss5 of 26 spots worth the trip
Best now at Trinity River, CA92
Bites in 40–55° water
Coho salmonOncorhynchus kisutch8 of 20 spots worth the trip
Best now at Port Crescent, MI84
Bites in 44–58° water
Smallmouth bassMicropterus dolomieu50 of 118 spots worth the trip
Best now at Potomac River, MD100
Bites in 55–78° water
Brown troutSalmo trutta27 of 64 spots worth the trip
Best now at Selkirk Shores, NY100
Bites in 45–68° water