Michigan Fishermen/Women and Their Catches: 1900-1943

Five huge bodies of water: the Great Lakes...
Between ten thousand and eleven thousand inland lakes...
Rivers, streams, ponds, brooks, creeks, lagoons, reservoirs, basins, tributaries.....is it any wonder Michigan is enamored with fishing?

Trout, pike, muskie, catfish, sturgeon, walleye, salmon, steelhead, bass, sunfish, perch, blue gill, whitefish, carp, smelt, and many more lesser known species. They're all here scattered throughout the state, just waiting for a fisher to come around and snag 'em.

Over many years, fishing has become more than just a means of survival...it's a sport. Extraordinarily huge fish (sturgeon, pike, muskie) are stuffed, put on a slab, and hung on the wall...but not before a commemorative photo is taken. Many of the smaller species – trout, perch, bluegill – are strung and then taken home, scaled, gutted, breaded, and fried.

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Not all people who love to fish end up killing the fish. Some enjoy the challenge of the catch and at the end of the day, throw them all back into the water to snag another day.

Looking at some of the photos below, it's easy to see why limitations were made. For example:
Largemouth bass: 5
Smallmouth Bass: 5
Walleye: 5
Northern Pike: 2
Flathead Catfish 5

The photos show fishers with many, many more than that wayyy over today's limits!

I remember one year a former boss of mine asked me to come over and go fishing with him in the small lake behind his house. He was saying (bragging) how he always catches fish...but I was the only one that evening to catch anything...a good sized one, at that. He didn't seem too happy about that.

Anyhow, there's nothing like fishing in Michigan...get that little boat or pontoon out on the lake, take along some sandwiches and beer, cast your line...and enjoy the day.