Salmon From Lake Michigan?

Hi, it’s Leslie, and I heard on the news a couple of days ago that salmon numbers in Lake Michigan are really high right now. My first thought was, who would eat fish from lake Michigan?

Of course, I thought of the not so clean waters in the Chicago area, but there’s some great fishing in cleaner waters off the coast of Michigan.

One of the reasons why the salmon population is because the Department of Natural Resources has stocked Lake Michigan with 1 million Chinook salmon. Another reason is because alewife population has recovered. Yes alewife. Those stinky fish that we have seen washed up on the beach are a staple for our salmon friends.

There’s even a tournament in Michigan called Salmon-a-Rama. This year’s winner was a 20-pound Chinook salmon.

I don’t eat farmed salmon because hatcheries are notoriously dirty, so I usually look for Alaskan salmon, which is always wild caught. I might consider eating Lake Michigan salmon, but I’m not sure how I would determine the source. How about you?

How do you feel about eating fish from Lake michigan? Let me know in the comments.