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Delicious Fresh Caught Lake Michigan Coho Salmon Why do fisherman prefer fresh caught salmon? It is definitely is more than the just the sport of fishing that keeps people fishing for coho salmon year after year.  Fresh caught coho salmon has a flavor that is unmatched.  Salmon swimming in the wild of Lake Michigan feed…

Coho Salmon – Chicago Area Fishing Coho salmon, Lake Michigan, and Chicagoland fishing go together as well as peanut butter, jelly, and Wonder Bread. The Coho salmon was introduced to the Great Lakes in 1966. Coho salmon made Lake Michigan famous for fishing because of the plentiful numbers. In the late 70’s thru the 1980’s…

Being a Chicagoland fishing charter captain is not as easy as it appears. After a long hard season of working two trips a day almost every day of spring and summer you would think a captain would want to kick back and relax. What do most Chicago area captains do on their off season? They…

2024 Chicagoland Charter Season – It’s a Wrap 2024 Recap 2024 was one of the best fishing seasons we’ve seen in decades. Big coho, King Salmon, and Lake trout were in abundance depending upon the time of year. If you fished with us during the 2024 season we thank you from the bottom of our…

20 Facts surrounding the Port of Waukegan and Fishing Lake Michigan At Spendthrift Charters we host guests form from far and close. The most amazing thing we find is how little anyone knows about Lake Michigan and more specifically where we fish. Hopefully this blog will enhance your knowledge of the lake so you can…

Chicago Area Fishing – Lake Trout Unless you are a Lake Michigan angler, you may not know that Chicago area waters of Lake Michigan produce more lake trout than the majority of other ports around the lake. The Lake Trout is the only native species to Lake Michigan that recreational and charter fisherman catch. You…

The Salmon are Massive in Chicago’s Southern Basin of Lake Michigan – Why? A Charter Captains Perspective. 2024 marks the best salmon fishing we’ve seen as charter boat captains in Chicago’s southern basin in decades. Both the quantity and a size of the fish are increased trip after trip with no apparent end in sight.…

Fishing the Lake Michigan Transition – Chicago Fishing the Lake Michigan transition in Chicago area waters is simply based on an understanding of water temperatures and what the this fish are doing. Patterns of the fish given the time of day and movements based on prevailing winds can be tricky to understand. However, once we…

Salmon fishing in Chicagoland can provide for some excellent salmon catches and plenty of fish for multiple recipes. Now that we’ve been filling the freezers with fresh Lake Michigan salmon, we thought we’d share a few of our favorite recipes with you.  Some recipes are smoked so if you don’t have access to a smoker;…

Kayak Fishing Lake Michigan – Illinois Waters Kayak Fishing Lake Michigan can be an excellent adventure and provide for bountiful catches. The Illinois waters of Lake Michigan are some of the best multi species fishing waters of the lake. We have a great fishery for salmon, trout, perch, pike, bass, and panfish. However, there are…