GLORY DAYS ON THE GREAT LOOP: AT MANISTEE

DAY 81, 82, 83. AUG 23, 24,25
AT MANISTEE
WINDY, WINDY, WINDY!!!

We are still in Manistee. There are worse places we could be stuck waiting for the lake to lay down, but we are getting anxious to get under way. So far it looks good for tomorrow morning. Pat’s cousin Sharon lives within walking distance of the marina, and Uncle Erv. Augustine drove up from W. Branch to see Pat and spent 2 days at a motel just down the street. Manistee is a town of about 9,000 year round residents, and is locally famous for its salmon fishery. Pat’s high school classmate Fred MacDonald lives here and runs fishing tournaments and books fishing charters. Fred told me that back in the 60’s the DNR set out .5M salmon eggs and has continued to do so every year. The result has been an economic boon to Manistee. There must be over 100 charter fishing boats here that go out 2 to 3 times a day, and come back with salmon and lake trout in the 15 to 30 pound range. He said after Labor Day they will make their spawning run up the river and they can be caught from the docks where we are staying. As it is now, we see these boats coming and going at the rate of 1 boat every 5 minutes, all day long. It’s just amazing, everybody here is a fisherman! Fred is the most friendly, well known person in town, and does not take no for an answer when he invites you to dinner. He and his wife Carol welcomed us into their home for a sumptuous meal of Bourbon Glazed Salmon that was fantastic. The last time we were here was 10 years ago, and they would not let us leave without making us dinner. We hope they can visit us on the Cape so we can reciprocate. We spent a good deal of the time here visiting with Erv. and Sharon and shopping and eating. Now that Erv. has left for home, I can catch up on the blogs.