Bay Port Fish Company, Family Fishing Profile
BAY PORT FISH CO. The Fish Caught the Williams Brothers, and Their Best Fish Are Becoming Legends. The osprey is a large fish eating bird, with a variety of live fish accounting for about 99% of its diet. Tod Williams’ Osprey is a 50 foot commercial fishing boat. Rigged with trap nets, it hauls in 6,000 pounds of whitefish on a good day, then chugs her way back to her temporary port in Caseville. The Osprey isn’t just any boat to Tod; he built her himself, under the direction of local expert boat builder Fred Brown. She’s served him and the Bay Port Fish Company crews well, faithfully weathering the volatile conditions on shallow Saginaw Bay. Commercial fishing was not the career Tod had in mind when he was growing up. He doesn’t come from a long line of fishermen. In fact, he tried his hand at being a cowboy in Nebraska after he left Michigan State University. It wasn’t long, though, before he returned to Michigan, where his brother Forrest had been working in the hotel industry. The Williams brothers bought the state-licensed Bay Port Fish Company from Henry Englehard, who had started the community’s Fish Sandwich Festival. Some folks told them they were crazy, but the fishery certainly captivated them and, after all, the Bay Port slogan is “Fish caught the man.” They learned what they could from experienced fishing captains such as Ralph Cross and Ross Lange, and they kept at it. They tried different gear, such as the purse seine, and did some research. They first tried catching perch and catfish, and then got into whitefish. They see lots more whitefish now than in their early days 30 years ago, but they also struggle with low water (which is why they’re docking at Caseville temporarily instead of Bay Port), changes in the habitat and invasive species such as zebra mussels. Tod says, “When zebra mussels attach to the nets, it feels like a net full of cement!” Tod says he really likes being his own boss, working in the fresh air with good people and providing a healthful product. About the only down side to commercial fishing, Tod says, is pulling up nets in foul weather. The Bay Port Fish Company is always looking for good opportunities, such as selling some of their catch at farmers’ markets, where clientele appreciate buying fresh fish directly from the fishermen and getting some tips on taste tempting techniques. The Williams’ experience in the hospitality industry has taught them much about customer service and providing a quality product. The fishery is now managed by Tod and his daughter Lakon Williams. This story posted in Fishing Families on Great Lakes Whitefish website (view PDF version of original web content). This profile is also published online by the Michigan Fish Producers Association (‘The Fishermen’ ).
The Fisherman – news journal of the Great Lakes fisheries 1931-1994
The Fisherman journal or digest was originally published by Claude Ver Duin and family from 1931 to 1994. “The news journal of the Great Lakes fisheries,” was the official publication of the Midwest Federated Fisheries Council. This news journal series offers many stories, advertisements, and images relating to the Great Lakes fisheries over time. Claude Ver Duin, a lifelong resident of Grand Haven Michigan, was a fisherman and printer. Son of Caleb Ver Duin and Hilda Bolthouse Ver Duin he was a third-generation American fisherman of Dutch descent. Through his work he became Michigan’s foremost promoter of Great Lakes commercial fishing. Ver Duin was the Secretary of the Michigan Fish Producers Association and published The Fisherman from 1931 until his death in 1990. Ver Duin came to know the federal policy makers and scientists on the Great Lakes monitoring issues that involved the industry. The fishing industry was important enough that Ver Duin met with Congressman Gerald Ford and Senator Richard M. Nixon in Grand Haven during the 1952 presidential campaign as they worked to get the Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower elected. In 1956, Eisenhower appointed Ver Duin to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. The Commission, which had spun out of the 1954 Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries, was created to develop a binational (United States and Canada) cooperation for research and policy with the aim of sustaining the Great Lakes fish stocks. From the very beginning of the organizations creation, his demeaner gained him the respect of those in the industry to the point that he became the spokesperson for the fisherman of Michigan and set the tone for bilateral cooperation. In publishing the Fisherman Mr. Ver Duin had the assistance of his wife Fern Ver Duin and then later his son Robert who also became an editor. Bob Ver Duin maintains the family print shop in Grand Haven. This journal collection has been digitized by the University of Michigan, and is available online at the Hathi Trust Digital Library. Collection includes the following editions from this journal series: Full viewv.1-3 1931-34 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.3-7 1934-38 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.7-13 1938-45 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.14-15 1946-47 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.16-17 1948-49 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.18-21 1950-53 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.22-27 1954-1976 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.28-29 1976-1977 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.30-31 1978-1979 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.32 1980 no.2-7 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.33 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.34-36 1982-84 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.37-38 1985-86 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.39 no.1-4 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.40 1988 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.41-42 1989-1990 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.43 no.1 1991 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.44 no.1-3 1992-1993 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.45 no.4 1993 (original from University of Michigan) Full viewv.46 no.1 1994 (original from University of Michigan)
Gauthier & Spaulding, Fishing Family Profile
Every fish Gauthier & Spaulding catch and process reflects a hundred years of experience. John and Tom Holding Legends™ of the Lakes PackageIt’s been more than a hundred years since John Gauthier’s ancestors began fishing in the Great Lakes near Two Rivers, Wisconsin. He was about 10 years old when he started working gill tugs with his family near Fairport on the Garden Peninsula in northern Lake Michigan. He remembers how sick he used to get on rough days, but he kept at it. He met Tom Spaulding in high school; the two became best friends, and John taught Tom to fish. They tried to start their fishing business in 1984, when they got a license to fish around Whitefish Point on Lake Superior. However, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. In less than a year, they had to move south to Lake Huron because a consent decree with federally recognized Native American tribes re-assigned their fishing area. They settled in at Rogers City and built a state of the art processing facility—complete with walk in freezer and filleting machine—to complement their sturdy trap net boats. However, in 2000, the partners had to move their boats and nets farther south—past the 45th parallel—in response to a renegotiated settlement with the Indian tribes. The processing plant and its retail counter serving fresh and smoked fish remains in Rogers City. Gauthier says fishing is ‘in his blood,’ “The Lord wanted me to fish, and I can’t imagine doing anything else.” So fish he has—for about 40 years now—23 of them from the northeastern Michigan base. Over the years, he and Tom have seen lots of changes in gear and technology and in the lakes themselves. They’re very concerned about the effects that aquatic invasive species are having on the ecology of the lakes in general and the fishery in particular. Although John admits that it’s still hard to get up and out on the water before dawn, the seven month fishing season is filled with 10+ hour days, especially in the fall when they get 50 percent of their annual catch in a couple of very busy months. “That’s why it’s so important that we have excellent freezing capacity. By vacuum packing and freezing the fillets, we can guarantee our customers the delicate taste and tender texture they prefer.” Profile posted in Fishing Families on Great Lakes Whitefish website (view PDF version of original web content)
Petersen Fisheries, Fishing Family Profile
Three generations and counting. Bill Petersen’s grandpa went into commercial fishing in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Four of Bill’s uncles followed in their father’s footsteps. Bill and his two brothers—Chris and Allen—have kept the family tradition alive, with their operation based at Muskegon. Now Bill’s son Eric and his nephew Joel pilot their trap net boat out onto Lake Michigan, ready to lift the pots and return with their catch of whitefish. The Petersen brothers knew, even before high school, what they were going to do. They had learned a lot from being on the boats from the time they were young, and they knew they’d like to be out in the fresh air, running their own business, enjoying the variety of weather and tasks, rather than working for someone else inside at a shop. “There’s nobody telling you what you have to do or when you have to do it. You make your own decisions. You sign your own paycheck,” Bill says. They’ve seen lots of changes over the years—in their gear, in the laws governing their occupation, in the markets and in the fishery itself. At first they could fish perch, and then small mesh and big mesh gill nets. Then a court decree required them to change their gear, so they spent a summer in the Upper Peninsula, learning the unfamiliar ways and means of trap netting from the VanLandschoots in Munising. According to Bill, “If you are a fisherman, you can catch on quick, because if you don’t, you’re not going to be there long. You gotta have some smarts. You gotta be able to understand the fish and weather.” They’re fishing in deeper water now, adjusting to changes in the whitefish’s behavior, brought on, it seems, by zebra mussels. As for the weather, the Petersen brothers’ most exciting times on the lake include a 110 mile per hour wind ride when they were teenagers. As their father cut off their gill nets, the sea spun them around and pushed them back to port uninjured, to their families’ great relief. The business has its ups and downs, too. “Some years you take a beating, and some years you make out halfway decent. If you are still in business, I guess that’s a success,” Bill says. And they’re still in business, catching and selling their annual quota of 300,000 pounds of Great Lakes whitefish. Bill and his brothers have no plans to retire, but have encouraged Eric and Joel to become the fourth generation of Petersens fishing from Muskegon. Bill thinks they’ll keep right on going, because they’re already into it. “It’s too late to start looking for another job.” Profile posted in Fishing Families on Great Lakes Whitefish website (view PDF version of original web content)
Commercial fishing is Petersen legacy as fourth generation continues a Muskegon tradition
News story posted on MLive (July 25, 2013), written by Dave Alexander MUSKEGON, MI – For a fourth generation Lake Michigan commercial fisherman trying to establish a fresh-fish retail and wholesale business in Muskegon, the 18-hour days are brutal. During fishing season, Eric Petersen might start the day by getting up at 3:30 a.m. to head off to the Petersen Fisheries boats on Muskegon Lake. He will fish with uncles Alan and Chris and cousin Joel. His father, Bill is still part of the family business but not out on the water as much. The Petersens will commercially fish for Lake Michigan whitefish with live trap nets off the coast of Muskegon from Mount Garfield Road to the south to Duck Lake to the north. They will cast the huge nets out up to five miles but usually fish in 50-60 feet of water, Eric said. The company will put out a dozen nets it must tend, bringing in thousands of pounds of fish each day. The Petersens will go out four or five days a week, weather-depending from early spring through late fall. The Muskegon commercial fleet is unable to enter Lake Michigan when Muskegon Lake is frozen over during the winter months. Visit online to read the full story.
Invaders of the Great Lakes
A guide book exploring Great Lakes invasive species, including: What they are, where they are found, and what you can do related to this issue. This book is published by Adventure Publications, who provides this book description: Aquatic invasive species have invaded the Great Lakes. Now, they are poised to invade thousands of lakes, rivers, and streams. We must stop the invasion! This handy, full-color guide by Wildlife Forever spotlights 44 aquatic invasive species, divided into three categories: invertebrates, plants, and fish. Get the details on how they live, grow, reproduce, and spread. Learn how they impact you, your environment, and the economy. Invaders of the Great Lakesoffers tips for stopping aquatic hitchhikers, QR Codes that link to web pages with even more details, and other important information. Armed with this knowledge, you can help to protect our inland waters, keeping your favorite fishing spots and lakeshores healthy. View a PDF copy of original first edition of this guide book. Visit website to review and purchase the new updated and revised second edition from Adventure Publications.
Lake Invaders – Invasive Species and the Battle for the Future of the Great Lakes
Lake Invaders: Invasive Species and the Battle for the Future of the Great Lakes A book by Bill Rapai, published by Wayne State University Press (2016). This book is described by WSU Press, as follows: There are more than 180 exotic species in the Great Lakes. Some, such as green algae, the Asian tapeworm, and the suckermouth minnow, have had little or no impact so far. But a handful of others—sea lamprey, alewife, round goby, quagga mussel, zebra mussel, Eurasian watermilfoil, spiny water flea, and rusty crayfish—have conducted an all-out assault on the Great Lakes and are winning the battle. In Lake Invaders: Invasive Species and the Battle for the Future of the Great Lakes, William Rapai focuses on the impact of these invasives. Chapters delve into the ecological and economic damage that has occurred and is still occurring and explore educational efforts and policies designed to prevent new introductions into the Great Lakes. Rapai begins with a brief biological and geological history of the Great Lakes. He then examines the history of the Great Lakes from a human dimension, with the construction of the Erie Canal and Welland Canal, opening the doors to an ecosystem that had previously been isolated. The seven chapters that follow each feature a different invasive species, with information about its arrival and impact, including a larger story of ballast water, control efforts, and a forward–thinking shift to prevention. Rapai includes the perspectives of the many scientists, activists, politicians, commercial fishermen, educators, and boaters he interviewed in the course of his research. The final chapter focuses on the stories of the largely unnoticed and unrecognized advocates who have committed themselves to slowing, stopping, and reversing the invasion and keeping the lakes resilient enough to absorb the inevitable attacks to come. Rapai makes a strong case for what is at stake with the growing number of invasive species in the lakes. He examines new policies and the tradeoffs that must be weighed, and ends with an inspired call for action. Although this volume tackles complex ecological, economical, and political issues, it does so in a balanced, lively, and very accessible way. Those interested in the history and future of the Great Lakes region, invasive species, environmental policy making, and ecology will enjoy this informative and thought-provoking volume. Published by: Wayne State University Press
Ruin and Recovery, Michigan’s Rise as a Conservation Leader
Ruin and Recovery: Michigan’s Rise as a Conservation Leader A book by Dave Dempsey, published by University of Michigan Press (2001). This book documents the history of conservation issues, along with recovery and management efforts in Michigan. This book covers a great deal of content relating to water quality and fisheries issues (such as invasive species and historic over fishing) relating to the Great Lakes, which led to the demise of historic commercial fisheries and eventually management and policies that resulted in salmon stocking and the birth of modern day recreational fisheries. The book is described in more detail by UM Press, as follows: Ruin and Recovery tells the story of Michigan’s cycles of resource exploitation and conservation from the early days of statehood in 1837 to the present day. Drawing from a large number of resources, including archival records and reminiscences, official documents and individual interviews, Ruin and Recovery charts the development of a conservation ethic in Michigan and chronicles the major battles for environmental protection since the late 1800s. Michigan has faced two turning points in its conservation history. One came at the end of the nineteenth century when its logging era ended, only to be followed by raging forest fires that left millions of acres of land denuded. Ruin and Recovery ‘s discussion of this first turning point is from historical records and the later recollections of survivors of the ruinous 1908 Metz forest fire in northeastern Lower Michigan. The second turning point came in the late 1960s, when water and air pollution prompted public outrage. This controversy is brought to life through interviews with local residents, scientists, and agency officials who observed the Kalamazoo River to be the most polluted in Michigan. Both turning points set the stage for the historic eras of rebuilding that followed.
Just Schram and Bauer
By Amanda Holmes, Fishtown Preservation Many of Leland’s families, including fishing families, go back generations, and we appreciate and celebrate these deep ties. Many of us, though, have made our way to this beautiful area by a path other than that of family. These paths have often been unpredictable, and what led us here was sometimes mere happenstance. What’s important, however, isn’t what brought us here. What’s important is that here we feel at home. Fifteen years ago I was finishing a history of Omena, a village on the Grand Traverse Bay side of the Leelanau Peninsula, for the local historical society. My parents had lived in Omena for fifteen years, but back then I had no idea my own path would soon bring me here, too. When I look back, though, I can see a premonition of my own future in the story of two men usually known by the joint name, “Schram and Bauer.” In my work with Fishtown Preservation, they have often come to mind. They, too, came to the Leelanau in their forties, and they were commercial fishermen—and I’m disconcerted and sad at how little we now know about them. We have only the uncertainties of distant, half-remembered stories to rely upon, but it seems Bill Schram was born in Indiana in 1872 and made his way to Omena around the time of the First World War. We know almost nothing of the first four decades of his life, but some heard that he’d once worked as a balloonist at county fairs—maybe an occupation whose uncertain footing suited him to take to the open boats that fishermen then used on the waters. A few years younger than Bill, John Bauer was born near Saginaw and began fishing in Saginaw Bay as a teenager. He didn’t intend to make fishing his livelihood, though, and like Bill, John turned first to the world of amusements. He became a singer of “illustrated songs,” performances in vaudeville houses or the nickelodeon that featured a singer accompanied by a pianist and a dozen or more hand-colored, projected stereopticon slides. Eventually, however, the demands of filling a music hall with his unamplified voice brought on a persistent bronchitis, taking John off the stage and back to the boats. After fishing out of several other Lake Michigan towns, John met Bill, who had already set up on Omena Bay. They formed an odd pair. Where Bill was wiry and loquacious, John Bauer was quiet and, at over six feet and 200 pounds, a little bear-like, with the same kind of unexpected grace in his movements. They seemed to have in common only their distinct bow-leggedness, a trait long common among wood-boat sailors. Nevertheless, their partnership lasted 33 years, ended only by Bill’s death in 1949. We know just a few facts about those years. They kept eventually two boats, the Swan of Omena and the Eclipse, rechristening the latter the Bill and John. On the beach beside their small red bungalow they kept four net reels. For extra income they made wood boxes to ship their own fish and for use by the local cherry industry, and in the winter cut ice from the bay for use in nearby ice houses through the warm months. The bachelors were solitary but well liked by the locals. Once they received as a gift an iron door-knocker in the shape of an anchor. Soon after, an evening visitor from the city arrived at the door, banging the knocker again and again until John—who’d been shouting “Come in!”—came to open the door. “Whyn’t you just open the door and walk in, the way folks do around here?” he asked in some exasperation. “Our knocker ain’t to be all wore out by using it the way you did!” John retired from working the boats when Bill died, turning over the water operations to a pair of younger men. He thereafter led a retiring, contented life. “Life as a fisherman,” wrote one reporter, had “profited him a comfortable old age under his own roof, upon his own strip of shore.” He lived until 1965, when he rejoined Bill beneath an Omena tombstone that reads—of course—just “Schram and Bauer.” A few photographs, a few memories—not much in quantity, but all the more precious because of it. Bill Schram and John Bauer were commercial fishermen, which is why I’m telling you about them here. Fishtown Preservation is about the lives built around commercial fishing on the Great Lakes—now, in the years to come, and in the years past—and because Fishtown is one of the few places where you can still experience that life, we are home to stories beyond the borders of Leland. In the end, the story of Schram and Bauer is more than a fishing story. Bill and John made their way here by a meandering road, and while they regretted none of their earlier sojourns, here is where they decided to stay. After all, they were fishermen, and they were home.
People of the Sturgeon, Wisconsin’s Love Affair with an Ancient Fish
Book by Kathleen Schmitt Kline, Ronald M. Bruch, Frederick P. Binkowski, with photographs by Bob Rashid ISBN: 978-0-87020-431-9 // 304 pages, 240 color and b/w photos and illus., 8.5 x 10″ // audio edition of “People of the Sturgeon” is also available. Summary of this Lake Sturgeon documentary book (audio book also available), as provided by Wisconsin Historical Society Press: Lake sturgeon, an ancient fish native to the Great Lakes region, can grow to be more than six feet long, 200 pounds, and live more than 100 years. This “dinosaur fish” teetered on the brink of extinction since the late 19th century. But in Wisconsin, careful management for over 100 years has allowed one population to thrive. “People of the Sturgeon” is a history of the cultures surrounding lake sturgeon in Wisconsin’s Lake Winnebago region, told by a fascinating collection of photos, artifacts, and a few good fish tales. From some of the earliest inhabitants of Wisconsin, the Menominee Indian Tribe, to the spearers who flock to frozen Lake Winnebago for the annual sturgeon spearing season, people have always been drawn to this ancient fish. While overfishing, dams, and pollution nearly wiped out other populations of lake sturgeon, Winnebago sturgeon have survived and flourished because of the dedicated efforts of state managers, university researchers, and a determined group of spearers known as Sturgeon for Tomorrow. This is the only population of sturgeon in the world to have been nearly extirpated, then resurrected through a community-wide effort of people who are now joined together as “People of the Sturgeon.” To receive a review copy or press release, to schedule an author event, or for more information contact the WHS Press Marketing Department: whspress@wisconsinhistory.org. Explore a story map online illustrating images and locations described throughout this book. Listen to the oral history recordings collected as part of the research for the book. Watch this presentation (aired 10.20.2009, University Place, PBS) by co-author, Kathleen Kline, to learn more about this book and project:
