Hook & Hunting: Chinook salmon smolts placed in the Boardman River

TRAVERSE CITY — The Northwest Michigan Fishing Club and the DNR were at the Boardman River in Traverse City on Thursday to put around 100,000 Chinook salmon in the water.

The fish will remain in cages to get acclimated to the water and will then be released when the water temperature reaches 60 degrees. It also imprints on their internal GPS so they know to come back to the area in two years to be caught, which keeps the region’s fish economy going strong.

“First, it’s community building,” said NWMI Fishing Club Secretary Tim Hossack. “All these businesses along front street restaurants, gas stations, party stores, you name it. They count on the tourist dollar and the fisherman dollar to come in and fish for these salmon in an effort to keep the salmon fishery strong and to get a better return on fish. That’s why we do it. And we think it’s worth the effort.”

Salmon were also released back in 2022 and those fish will be making an appearance in the area within the next couple months.