This road trip was partly about seeing more fish tugs, the focus of the next few posts.  One of the current hubs of fishing tugs still fishing is the Bayfield Peninsula, jutting out of northern Wisconsin into Lake Superior.  Bayfield still had chunk ice in the harbor on May 9!

Let’s start out at Bodin Fisheries, and the docks there.

Visible here from l to r, it’s Miss Madilynn, JJC, Twin Disc, and Alicia Rae.

And circling around to the other side, more views from different angles of this set.

Mackenzie May, partly visible here,  is astern of Miss Madilynn.

Looking out of the cove, that’s Madeline Island–the only inhabited island of the Apostles–visible only when the fog is lifted.  Part of the island is home to the Bad River band of the Ojibwe.

But back to the fish tugs.  Note JayJayCee is abridged on the stack.

A major resource I use to learn more about fish tugs is here, compiled by Harvey Hadland and Bob Mackreth.  A second one is Great Lakes Commercial Fishing Forum here.

Miss Madilynn might be the newest of this set, built (I believe) in 1964 in Black River Harbor MI.  Previous names are Isle Royale Queen, Jean-Maur-B II, and Jean Mor B.   She’s 31′ loa.

Mackenzie May was built in 1940 at Burger Boat, 42′ loa.  The Burger family has been building boats since 1863 in Manitowoc WI.

Twin Disc, 45′ loa, carries the original name as when she was built in Sturgeon Bay by Peterson in 1937.  

Alicia Rae was built as C. W. Lind in 1945. The 42′ boat was also once called Kelly.  She was built as hull 209 at Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding  & Drydock. 

 

I skipped the Garden Peninsula on my drive out to Bayfield, but from George Schneider a few years back, here’s a fish tug he photographed there.

All photos by will Van Dorp, who takes the blame for any mis-processed info here.

Click here for a short video on commercial fishing on Lake Superior.