How the Platte River hatchery helped launch Michigan's salmon program

Michigan’s modern salmon story has one of its main addresses on the Platte River near Honor. In 1966, the DNR stocked coho salmon in two places: the Platte River and Bear Creek, a tributary of the Big Manistee River. Most went into the Platte. When adult fish returned in fall 1967, the result helped establish the Great Lakes salmon program that anglers know today.

The hatchery itself dates to 1928. The DNR converted it into Michigan’s main salmon hatchery in 1972. Its current capital plan describes Platte River as the state’s sole coho egg-take station and coho production hatchery. It also provides coho eggs to neighboring states, and the hatchery raises Chinook and Atlantic salmon and walleye too.

Fall is the easiest time to see how the system works. A weir downstream guides returning fish into the collection area, where hatchery staff gather eggs for another generation. The DNR says returning salmon are usually visible from mid-September through late October.

The grounds are free to visit and generally open from dawn to dusk. The hatchery buildings have shorter daytime hours, so check the DNR page before making a special trip. This is a working fish-production site, but it is also a plain-English look at how Michigan keeps part of its Great Lakes fishery going.