TOPIC:

 Out of the BIG 5 what is your favorite fish to catch? What are your second, third, fourth, and last Choices?
A. Kings
B. Steel Head
C. Coho
D. Brown Trout
E. Lake Trout

for me it is just like listed. ABCDE

Actually, an interesting question since that's one of the question asked by the DNR's creel clerk when they interview anglers. I wonder what their creel stats show. For me it's:

A. Coho - especially when there are lots of them
B. Lake trout - gotta love the "native son" predator of the Great Lakes
C. Steelhead - especially nearshore Skamania. Nearshore you can see them jump. Offshore they are usually too far behind the boat on long lines to get the best fight and see their aerial antics.
D. Kings - I just wish they were available all season instead of just a few weeks in mid-spring.
E. Browns, would likely rate them higher if we boated more than just a few each season.

I agree with BN about the creel clerks asking the same question. I remember being told that this is a way to help get info on what the fisherman want to see more of. I'll list it the way I like to catch & eat, not so much what I think we need more of. But in saying that it sure would be nice to have more of both. 

A. steelhead are to me the best fighting fish we have. They can also be great table fair. 
B. Kings, the next best fighting fish to me. Also great on the table. 
C. Coho, are great eating & are a blast to catch when there hot & heavy. 
D. Browns, we rarely keep then. Fun  to catch but we just don't care to eat them. 
E. Lakers. If we fished as a JOB they would be great. We have not kept any since we stopped fishing contests. That should tell you what we think about eating them. 
Sorry to the guys that love them but this is what we think. 

With all this said it would be nice if we had fish for a longer season. After mid July it's a very long ride to get any of these at all. I understand that it's partly due to the water depth in Indiana but just adding my 2 cents. 

For us it is 

A. Coho 
B. Steel Head
C. Kings 
D. Lake Trout
E. Brown Trout

A: Steelies (beauty, power and table fair)
B: Kings (because the size and sizziling reels)
C: Coho ( the larger 6lb coho in June and July high quantities and fun!)
D: Browns (size and fight)
E: Lakers (size)

For me, gotta gotta start with steelhead. Been hooked ever since my dad and I put two 16 pounders in the boat on a double with just the two of us fishing. I had just turned 10 at the time, still have mine hanging on the wall in my office.

The rest of the list is tough to order. I do enjoy a brown, but think I have to put it below a King.

A. Steelhead
B. Coho
C. King
D. Brown Trout.
E. Lake Trout.

I  agree with you  Ed.
A. Kings:   Kings have speed, size and stamina and catching one on a downrigger is as good as it gets. I'm in it for the sport. 
B. Steel Head:   I love catching steelhead almost as much as kings but after the initial run and/or a couple of jumps they usually run out of gas. 
C. Coho:   Coho are fun and good for the action and excellent table fare for those who like to eat Salmon. 
D. Brown Trout:  Don't catch too many Browns but I enjoy seeing an occasional big one.   
E. Lake Trout:   The trout in my opinion are the least desirable and being a recreational fisherman fishing bottom is usually a last resort. That said, I have worked on charters and know how valuable a resource they are for charter captains.  They are user friendly and normally plentiful when you have a boat full of people out for a day of fishing. We should never bad mouth them on the radio. The last thing you want on a charter is a group in late July and August that don't want Trout.  

1)   Kings
2)  Steelhead
3)  Lake Trout  (gives us a summer fishery)
4)  Coho - Great but also boring to catch the small fish in spring.   Summer is better, but sometimes they are just flat out gone.
5)  Browns - rare and not worth targeting

Jeff, I agree spring cohos are boring to catch (or almost boring) when using inline planers, but they are a hoot when there isn't a Yellow Bird dangling on the line. 

Everyone knows I'm a proponent of using big boards instead of inline planers. I do that specifically to keep cohos (and other fish) from being boring. 

Do this.  Tally the total number of each species caught on your boat. For many, it's cohos in #1 spot by a wide margin.  

So why use a fishing method that dampens the fun of catching your #1 fish? 
1) Switching would be expensive
(tell me something about boat fishing for salmon that isn't expensive)
2) Big planer boards are complicated to use.
(there's a learning curve, but there's a learning curve to using any new technique)
3) Catch more fish with inlines
(really?  I don't think so.)

People often look to successful charter captains and top tournament contenders and copy their techniques.  A good plan, much of the time. But remember the goal of a tournament contender is to bring a pile of dead fish to the weigh-in.  For many charter customers, the pile of fish is a measure of success as well, and most don't know there are alternative methods available.  But recreational anglers can opt for using tactics that increase the fun, excitement and enjoyment of the sport and the dead fish in the cooler is only a by product of the day.  

Stream trout fishermen do it by using flyrods instead of worms. Bluegill fishermen use ultralite gear instead of heavy bass gear. 

Cohos are not boring.  

Your right - cohos are boring with heavy tackle and that is what we typically use because of cost and convenience (since we have it).  They are certainly not boring on light tackle.  Everything you said is spot on Mike.