Fishing the Bays de Noc

Fishing the Bays de Noc. . , Beginning with the Native Americans to present day, people have found food, fortune and failure fishing the Bays de Noc. In 1866, commercial fishing at Escanaba began with catching fish for visiting trade vessels and local logging camps. In the next few years this industry expanded enormously. By 1881 the Booth Co. alone shipped over 1,500,000 pounds of whitefish, trout, dory, pickerel and sturgeon to Chicago. Commercial fishing continued to thrive in Escanaba until during the 1920's and 1930's, intense competition between fishermen drove the price down to 4 cents a pound. For many it was impossible to stay in business, and by the 1950's many Escanaba fish houses had closed. Today, the many commercial fishing boats have given way to recreational fishermen, and the shouts of success and moans of failure are still echoed across the bay. , , Life for a fishing crew was difficult. The fishing season lasted from April 1st or when the ice broke up until January. The days began at 2am and lasted until the return to port at 4-5pm.