Fishing

Coalition Announces Winners of Great Lakes Story & Photo Contest

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (October 4)—A father’s decision to fish with his sons before being deployed to Iraq. A woman’s relationship with Lake Michigan during milestones in her life.  A child’s chase down the beach. A teenager’s leap for joy on a sand dune.

These are some of the subjects of the winning entries for the month of August and the contest as a whole in the Great Lakes story and photo contest, which concluded in late August.

“People’s love for the Great Lakes is clear by looking at the winning entries—and all of the entries that we received during the contest,” said Read More » »

Senses

This story comes to us from Joe Polasek of Downers Grove, Illinois.  Joe writes:

For years I have explored and for years I have been filled with wonder. You cannot stop Lake Michigan’s beauty or power; it’s a wonder to the senses.

I learned this at an early age traveling to the lake to smelt fish with my father. On the way there I remember watching the cars, buildings, and people go by, while in my mind I created fantasies about each of them.

When we finally arrived at the harbor, I remember trying to get the best parking spot before everyone else arrived. Read More » »

Tackle The Big Guy

This story (and accompanying illustration) come to us from Lori of N. Muskegon, Michigan. Lori writes: “In my story, ‘Tackle The Big Guy,’ a boy learns that his girl cousin was made up of more than just sugar and spice. And the onlooking grandpa noticed the help of his grandson was more than just thinking about his own best catch of the day. They all came away from the fishing catch of the day feeling really good about each other. My artwork is a sample of how the story would be illustrated. As a Read More » »

A Lake Erie Birthday

This story and accompanying photo come to us from Dennis Darling of Warsaw, Ohio. He writes:

This is my story of my birthday, fishing at Lake Erie. My wife and sister thought it would be a good adventure for all of us to make a trip to Lake Erie. And when I say all of us I mean myself, my wife, my sister and 6 (yes, 6) kids! My wife and sister have no idea the first thing about fishing besides taking pictures of all the fish caught. So… that left me to help 6 Read More » »

Fishing On Lake Erie

This submission comes to us from Izek in Warsaw, Ohio, who is entering in the children’s category.

My Dad took me and my two sisters and three cousins fishing at Lake Erie. My cousins had never been fishing before. My dad is a good fisherman, so he helped us all. He said 6 poles and 6 kids was more than one man could handle, so we used 2 poles and took turns catching fish. We all caught fish and my cousins where really excited to see the fish and to catch them. We caught bluegill, white bass, small mouth bass, perch Read More » »

Coalition Announces July Winners of Great Lakes Story & Photo Contest

Contest to Run through August 20

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (August 7)—Landing the “Big One.” A watery game of tag with man’s best friend. A father-daughter friendship defined by adventures along the Great Lakes.

These are some of the subjects of the winning entries for the month of July in the Great Lakes Story and Photo Contest.

“The entries illustrate how important the Great Lakes are to people,” said Jeff Skelding, national campaign director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, sponsor of the contest. “The Great Lakes have defined the lives and memories of millions of people, and we applaud all of the Read More » »

Detroit River Sturgeon

This fishing story comes to us from Tom in Westland, Mich., who writes:

Three years ago we were fishing on the Detroit River for walleye. We were almost done for the day. Tom got a knot in his line and did not fix it for this was the last drift of the day. Then he got a bite. He knew it was not a walleye. For the first few moments he thought it was just a big old carp, for it felt larger than a walleye. After a few he realized it was something else and bringing in this fish would Read More » »

Great Lakes Story and Photo Contest - June Winners Announced

Entry deadline for July awards: Midnight, Friday July 20

Coalition Announces June Winners of Great Lakes Photo & Story Contest

Monthly Prizes Awarded Through End of August

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (July 18)—A summer fishing trip on the Au Sable River. A Native American meditation on the importance of the Great Lakes. The power of Lake Michigan. Ice fishing from a pier in February.

These are the subjects of the winning entries for the month of June in the Great Lakes Story and Photo Contest.

The contest continues to run through August 20 and will award monthly prizes at the end of July and Read More » »

First Catch

This story comes to us from Paul in Willowick, Ohio. He writes:

Fishing has been passed from generation to generation by my family. My father taught me to fish at just about the age my son is in this picture and I am now beginning to pass the fun activity on to him. 

My boy, Carter, is five. This is probably the third or fourth time he’s gone fishing with me and his Pap-pap, my father-in-law (the arm helping him hold his catch). On this day we were fishing in a lake near Read More » »

A First Salmon, A Spectacular Sunrise, and A Tradition Continues

This story comes to use from Rob in Maple Grove, Minn. He writes:

Our family was in Algoma, Wisconsin in August of 2005 visiting my wife’s parents. While we were there we like to fish for salmon on Lake Michigan. We have two young boys and they had never been fishing on the big lake before. We had asked them if they wanted to go fishing and our oldest son, Evan, said he would like to go. He was five years old at the time so we didn’t want to take him Read More » »