Fishy Invitations

A good neighbor can bring more to your life than a stick of butter. Not long ago, my neighbor Eric invited me to join him and a couple of his buddies salmon fishing on Lake Michigan.

Last week, on a quiet Monday morning, we set out on a pre-dawn excursion off the picturesque shores of Manistee, Michigan, a quaint town on the state’s northwestern Lower Peninsula into Lake Michigan, among the world’s largest lakes.

Here are a few pics from our trip, and some of my takeaways about salmon fishing.

Wake up, fool!

Yeah, I signed up for this thing. As my alarm sounded at 2:30 am, I felt plenty of regret but this passed quickly. I became an oversized kid hyped for my first day of school. I have never built a brown bag lunch so thoughtfully. We departed in wee hours, 3:15 am EST, driving hour from Idlewild, a historic Black community, into downtown Manistee.

Throw Hands

The boat and bouncy waters tend to make some folks sea sick, so Dramamine or staying home is recommended. Tougher than the ride, though, is the strength and patience it takes to lure and catch a nice sized salmon. Sure, captain has the rods prepped and in position, but pulling that wily sucker in is up to you. Hooked salmon fight back with gusto. It took me a full 50 minutes to bring in my one catch of the day. When the creature finally emerged, I was expecting to see Mike Tyson.

‘Salmon Man’ is a generous, and desperate, Superhero

What to do with all this fish? My estimate is that we caught about 100 pounds of salmon - and as our captain conceded, ours was a slow morning. I brought home a couple of large ziplock baggies, pudgy with fresh pink salmon. But like the fish itself, salmon eaters, too, can be tough to catch. Man, I can’t give this stuff away fast enough. Suggestions welcome.