Tag Archives: Wisconsin
Iconic fishing boat listed for sale after serving the Lakeshore for decades
The owners of the iconic Susie Q fishing boat are hoping the vessel will be able to get a new lease on life, after serving the Lakeshore for more than six decades. “My dad would probably be a little upset, because that was the main ship of the fleet – the Susie Q. That’s where we got the name of the fish market and everything. He was very proud of it. It’s a nice boat,” said Susie Q Fish Company owner Paul LeClair. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:25
Wild Things: State of the Commercial Fishery
At its monthly meeting in Madison Wednesday, Door County’s Charlie Henriksen told the state Natural Resources Board that the Lake Michigan and Green Bay commercial fishery is still struggling, with some bright spots but many ongoing concerns. Henriksen, chair of the state’s Lake Michigan Commercial Fishing Board, said the ecological challenges of the last 20 years have not abated, and added that fishers are still overcoming the effects of the economic difficulties from the pandemic that limited their opportunities. more, >>CLICK TO READ<<08:17
Long-sought-after shipwreck with tragic history discovered at popular Lake Michigan fishing spot over a century later
An intrepid team of marine archaeologists has discovered the wreckage of a long-sought-after schooner, more than a century after it sunk beneath Lake Michigan. The Margaret A. Muir was found 50 feet below the surface several miles off the coast of Algoma, Wisconsin in May, the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association announced this month. “The Margaret A. Muir was lost to history” in the last 130 years since, despite its relatively close proximity to shore, according to the experts. “It had lay undetected for over a century, despite hundreds of fishing boats passing over each season.” Photos, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:45
‘We need it desperately’: Great Lakes Commercial Fishermen look for help as industry shrinks
Commercial fishing on the Great Lakes began 150 years ago, and fishermen once numbered in the thousands. Now, only a handful of businesses are still at it, and many are aging out and looking for help. Jamie LeClair represents the fifth generation involved in her family-run commercial fishing business. Titus Seilheimer, a fisheries specialist for the Wisconsin Sea Grant, said the industry needs to start training the next generation of commercial fishermen. “There are concerns. A lot of folks I work with are getting older, and the fleet is getting grayer,” said Seilheimer. “That’s an issue here in the Great Lakes, but really any fishery.” Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:57
The Day Lake Superior Gave Up Her Dead
The Jones family of Cornucopia, Wisconsin, was well known as both boatbuilders and commercial fishermen on Lake Superior. Thomas Senior and his two sons, Thomas Jr. “Coonie” and Emery, made good money in the fall of 1924 when the price of herring was unusually high.The price of trout was also high at the time, and the men knew they could make even better money if only they could fish trout on the Big Lake after herring season 
closed. Overwinter fishing on the open Lake had never been done out of the small harbors of the South Shore. Another problem was, the Joneses didn’t have a proper boat capable of staying out beyond the pack ice for any length of time. Enter the Thomas Friant, a 96-by-18-foot abeam, 81-ton wooden hulled ferry built in Grand Haven, Michigan, in 1884. The passenger-hauling Friant had been converted to a massive – for that era – fishing tug. photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:06
Door County fish companies pledge for more sustainability
Three Door County fishing companies are working to make sure no fish they catch goes to waste. Henriksen Fisheries, Baileys Harbor Fish Company, and J & M Fisheries have all signed the “100% Great Lakes Fish Pledge.” The pledge is part of an initiative created by the Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers. It aims to productively use 100% of each fish caught on the Great Lakes by 2025. According to the initiative, in most cases, less than half of a fish is actually used. Henriksen says they already use their fish for more than just filets. Photos. >>click to read<< 08:48
Natural Connections: The Lake Superior Fishery in Wisconsin Waters
The boat engine rumbled and machinery whirred as a gillnet rose from the depths of Lake Superior. Captain Ross Lind managed the throttle so that the 55-foot-long gillnet-tug-turned-research-vessel named Hack Noyes moved toward the net at the same speed the net lifter reeled it in. A group of interested adults on this Museum-sponsored field trip gathered around the equipment. We were mesmerized by the clicking of the metal teeth on the spinning drum as they gripped and then released the line, and by the lengths of delicate nylon net attached to the line. Capable hands guided the net down a long, stainless-steel worktable and into the storage tub. (Check 
out the Museum’s Reels on Instagram and Facebook if you want to see a video of this operation.) Gillnets look like a long tennis net, anchored by weights along the lake bottom and held vertical by floats. Small fish swim right through, but bigger fish get caught. Whether a DNR biologist or a commercial fisherman is setting the net, they can choose the fish they target by the size of the mesh and the depth of set. >click to read< 19:28
Commercial fishermen issue demand to start netting lake trout on Lake Michigan
Commercial fishermen have intensified their push to establish a commercial harvest of lake trout on the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan. Though the idea has been discussed since 2016 and in February a formal request was made by commercial interests, Department of Natural Resources fisheries managers have not introduced a proposal to allow netting for the species. As a result the Lake Michigan Commercial Fishing Board at two meetings this year reemphasized its strong desire for action on the topic. “It’s absolutely time (for a commercial lake trout rule to be implemented),” said Charlie Henriksen, a commercial fisherman from Sturgeon Bay and chairman of the board. “I mean there’s just no reason that this isn’t happening.” >click to read< 12:13
Everett’s Fisheries adds to fleet; Avis J comes aboard for 70th anniversary
For the past 70 years, the crews of the Everett’s Fisheries of Port Wing have plied the frigid waters of Lake Superior, wresting nets full of cisco chubs, lake trout, herring and whitefish from the big lake. A third generation of the Port Wing fishing clan established by Everett Johnson continues to fish and produce the smoked fish and Jeff Johnson intends to keep that tradition alive. To back up that determination, he recently purchased a new fishing boat, the Avis J, to add to Everett’s two-vessel fleet. Well, new to them at least. Photos, >click to read< 18:15
Four Generations at Hickey Brothers Fishery
When Hickey’s grandfather, Martin Hickey, sold land to build the town hall, he moved the Kilgore house, built in 1860, to a site across from The Ridges Sanctuary. The Hickey family still owns it. The Hickey family’s history of fishing in Baileys Harbor goes back to the mid-1800s. Martin Hickey Sr. began fishing hooks for lake trout using a 20-foot, wooden, flat-bottomed boat. He later purchased a Burger-built, gill-net boat named the Pathfinder. His son, William, continued in the business, and William’s sons, Dennis and Jeffrey, are the third generation of fishers in Baileys Harbor. They began working with Winegar, fishing alewives during the 1960s after duty in the U.S. Navy. Dennis’ daughter and son-in-law, Carin and Todd Stuth, joined the business after graduating from college in 2000. Photos, >click to read< 15:23
Inland Fisheries: Meet the Last Commercial Fisherman of Washington Island
My dad asked me one day if I wanted to go fishing. I thought he meant sport fishing, so I headed for the fishing pole. He says, ‘No, not that kind, commercial fishing,’” Ken Koyen says of his start as a fourth-generation fisherman. “I said, ‘Commercial? Can I do it?’ He says, ‘Hold out your hands.’ So I held them out. He says, ‘They’re big enough!’ And that’s exactly how I got started.” That was when he was 17. Now, about to turn 70, Koyen is the last of his kind on Door County’s Washington Island. Most mornings, Koyen wakes up around 6 a.m. and makes his way to his fishing tug, the Sea Diver, docked in Jackson Harbor by 8 a.m. The 48-by-13-foot tug, built in 1950, is his daily companion. Though he fishes solo, he says he never feels alone because he senses the presence of his father with him. >click to read< 13:12
Captain hurt in Commercial Fishing Boat crash
A commercial fishing vessel captain is hospitalized after a Friday morning boating accident in Gills Rock. Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Department Chief Chris Hecht says the “Heather J” crashed into rocks on the shoreline around 10 am. Door County Emergency Services assisted firefighters in extracting the captain from the vessel, who was then taken to a Green Bay hospital. To be updated. >click to read< 10:19
Sheboygan history: Fishing boats from yesterday and today in photo’s
The J.B. Nelson is docked at the Sheboygan riverfront, Saturday, November 20, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis. According to Harvey Hadland’s online history of fishing vessels of the Great Lakes, the J.B. Nelson was built by Burger Boat Co. in 1937 for Leonard A. Nelson, Sturgeon Bay, Wis. The 40 ft. x 11 ft. all steel vessel was equipped with a 45-54 hp. Kahlenberg oil engine. In 1981 ownership went to another Nelson, Mark Nelson, in Sheboygan, Wis. The boat’s power plant has been replaced with a Cummins diesel. 12 photos, >click to read< 16:13
Fourth-generation fisherman keeps tradition alive in Wisconsin
Just as his ancestors did, Mike Valley draws his living from the Mississippi River. But the 1,000-pound catch that fills his handmade nets and homemade jon boat is not destined for wholesalers. Twice a week, Valley and a couple of his friends feverishly clean their overnight haul of carp, buffalo, catfish, perch and sturgeon, which soon will be snatched up by the enthusiastic customers of his retail store, Valley Fish and Cheese.,, >click to read<11:59
Billings fishing company offers sustainability and affordable wild salmon
Every June, Joe Echo-Hawk makes the long trek to Bristol Bay, Alaska to catch thousands of pounds of sockeye salmon. The area around the Kvichak River has hosted generations of commercial fishermen. But a growing number of operations like Echo-Hawk’s have adopted a new business model that’s beneficial to the people fishing and consumers who enjoy their catch. Echo-Hawk operates Kwee-Jack Fish Co. with his wife, Angela Echo-Hawk. The Billings-based company does more than just catch the fish. It also distributes directly to consumers as a community supported fishery, or CSF. Customers can place orders for flash-frozen salmon fillets in 10-pound increments until May 26. Joe and a crew of two or three other fishermen travel to Bristol Bay in June and fish through July to catch the salmon to fill orders in Montana, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. The fish is shipped on a barge to Seattle and trucked to Billings. Kwee-Jack guarantees delivery of the fish by early September. click here to view the photo gallery and read the story 12:16
