← Michigan fishing maps

Best coho salmon lakes in Michigan

10 Michigan waters hold coho salmon, 2 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Aggressive schooling salmon that rides warmer, shallower water than kings — a spring nearshore brawler.

1. Lake Michigan — Little Traverse Bay and the Beaver Islands — 581 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Steelhead
2. Lake Michigan — Michigan Northwest Shore — 690 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Steelhead
3. Lake Superior — Marquette Shore — 798 ft max · Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Steelhead, Lake Trout
4. Lake Superior — Keweenaw Peninsula — 850 ft max · Coho Salmon, Steelhead, Lake Trout, Brook Trout
5. Lake Michigan — Michigan South Shore — 278 ft max · Yellow Perch, Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Steelhead
6. Lake Michigan — Michigan Central Shore — 485 ft max · Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Steelhead, Lake Trout
7. Platte Lake — 90 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill
8. Pere Marquette Lake — 44 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch
9. Pere Marquette River — 8 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Rainbow Trout
10. St. Joseph River (MI) — 13 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish

When to fish coho salmon in Michigan

• Spring 3–25 ft — The famous spring coho bite: schools stack in the warmest nearshore water and mud lines, often in the top 15 feet.
• Summer 30–70 ft — Cohos hold at and just above the thermocline — shallower than kings, and they hit moving baits hard.
• Fall 8–40 ft — Staging and running fish concentrate off river mouths; cohos stay aggressive right up to the spawn.
• Winter 20–60 ft — Mostly offshore and scattered.

Also in Michigan: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best muskellunge lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best common carp lakes · best chinook salmon lakes · best steelhead lakes · best lake trout lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best lake whitefish lakes · best rock bass lakes · best cisco (lake herring) lakes · best pumpkinseed lakes · best brown bullhead lakes

Coho Salmon elsewhere: Washington · Alaska