By Katie Finkbeiner
Capital News Service
Recreational fishing trips in the Great Lakes are worth $884 million per year, according to a recent study.
John Whitehead, a professor of economics at Appalachian State University and lead researcher of the study, said it was surprising to see how many anglers the Great Lakes have. Almost 9 million people over 18 were licensed to fish in one of the Great Lakes at the time of the study’s data request during the 2020 season.
Whitehead’s calculations were based on how much visitors were willing to pay and the estimated number of trips.
Funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the study’s surveys received almost 20,000 replies. The majority of those who responded lived within 25 miles of a Great Lake.
The study appeared in the Journal of Great Lakes Research.
The commission has funded another round of research and is investigating whether recreational fishing continues to bring in the big bucks.
Whitehead has been to Michigan only once, so learning about the economic value of fishing in the Great Lakes was a surprise.
While in Michigan, he took a charter trip during a week-long vacation and enjoyed his experience.
One of Northern Michigan’s many charter companies is Kimar’s Charters, located in Au Train between Marquette and Munising.
The family-owned business’s manager, Sarah Kimar, says the company is preparing for Lake Superior’s “o’fishial” charter season. Her grandfather started the business in 1945.
Sitting in a bay on the lake, the staff are setting up a private dock while checking that the boats are ready for a busy season, she says.
Kimar said the season goes from early May till October, depending on the weather. Their boats can fit up to six people and each can run about three trips in a day.
According to Kimar, the lake is stocked every year with salmon and has native lake trout. The Marquette-Munising area has a big fishing culture, she said.
“I was 3 years old the first time I fished with my dad,” said Kimar. “All my friends now still fish off the shore while salmon are still in.”
Her company can handle hundreds of charters each season, with every year bringing more bookings.
“I want to say there’s at least five charter operations in our area, and the majority of the clients are tourists,” she said.
Visitors traveling to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore are part of the usual clientele, said Kimar. The other half of the clientele comes for a 49-mile, offshore trip to Stannard Rock Lighthouse.
Kimar said she recently received a “call from a guy in Mississippi to do this.”
Another business with clientele traveling across state lines is Manistee’s Fishin’ Finn-Atics.
Mike Jablonski, one of the charter company’s captains, said the farthest a client has come for a trip has been Costa Rica.
Jablonski said during his nine years at Fishin’ Finn-Atics, he’s had anglers from almost every state.
“I’ve always enjoyed watching people catch fish and harvesting animals,” he said. “I love seeing others catching and enjoying their fish with smiles on their face, people hooting and hollering when a salmon grabs hold of the line.”
The business operates in both Manistee and Saginaw, offering charters and ice fishing trips in Saginaw Bay.
However, he said the number of his bookings is down.
As for why, Jablonski said he thinks the market has become saturated with potentially more people getting captain licenses. Last year, he booked 100 to 120 trips, down from the usual 150 to 175 per season.
“I don’t think it’s going to hurt my business too much because I’m established,” he said. “Most of my clients are returning from past trips.” That includes a Missouri man who fished with Jablonski in Saginaw Bay last year and will fish in Maninstee this year.
The area still will make money from the fishing season, Jablonski said.
“It always helps the community,” he said. “Motels are full all summer long. Airbnbs and restaurants are full.”
