KENOSHA, WISCONSIN — It was approximately 50 years ago when my dad, grandfather, and I chartered a boat out of Waukegan, Illinois, in hopes of catching coho salmon. Devoting a full day toward the effort, the fishing was a little slow. We landed merely two salmon weighing between four and five pounds apiece. The highlight for me was an all-you-can-eat smelt fry at the end of the day.

Since then, Lake Michigan has become a world class destination for sport fishing. I was surprised when my nephew Nathan sent me a photo of a rather large Chinook salmon he caught out of Milwaukee in 2025. I knew instantly that that I would have to try to land one myself this year.

We rose at 3:45 a.m. so my 90-year-old dad and I could drive from Burlington to Kenosha for our 5 a.m. six-hour fishing trip departure from Simmons Island Marina.

I’d reserved a 33-foot Chris-Craft cabin cruiser owned by Captain Jim Matias of Jim’s Great Lakes Fishing Adventures for the extra comfort it would afford us. I also liked the name of it: “Fish On.”

I’ve been chasing Chinook salmon all over Alaska and British Columbia for the last 20 years. They are my favorite because they are the biggest and, in my opinion, the tastiest, since they have a higher fat content than other salmon. My personal Chinook record of 20 pounds would be within reach but hard to beat. My coho record of 13 pounds was most likely untouchable. At two pounds each, personal rainbow and brown trout records were in jeopardy.

Exiting the harbor before sunrise, the captain shined a flashlight on our glow-in-the-dark lures before letting the lines out on seven poles. Trolling at 2.8 miles per hour, we waited. Suddenly one of the rods bent over. Just as the boat’s name alluded to—fish on! Dad reeled in a beautiful eight-pound Chinook. It was a promising start.

A couple of cohos slightly smaller than the Chinook were brought aboard that provided good action. I’d make gravlax with one of them for lox and bagels when we got back to my dad’s house.

More diminutive was a brown trout. Minuscule by Lake Michigan standards, it lacked the orange spots and yellow belly that you see on browns in our waters, yet bettered my personal record. The fish tipped the scales at three pounds.

Another much-sought-after game fish here is the steelhead. Technically a rainbow trout, it is the same species that is found in the Pacific Northwest except that instead of spending years in the ocean, it lives in the Great Lakes before returning to the rivers to spawn.

Heavier than the other fish we landed earlier in the day, the steelhead gave me a bicep-burning battle when I hooked into it. Taking perhaps ten minutes to bring in, it fought as hard when it neared the net as it had when it was first hooked. A robust specimen without a single scar, its silver sides glistened in the sun as we admired it and posed for pictures.

The captain estimated that the fish weighed 13 pounds.

For more information about Lake Michigan fishing or to book a charter, go to fishermanjims.com or call 262-206-0700.