![]() But that’s the way we server our customers,” Williams said. So, if we get a big catch in the door, sometimes we’re here until 1 or 2 a.m. Returning customers will notice the family renovated the storefront over the winter.“We freeze all our fish within 48 hours of catch to ensure the best quality when thawing. The fish are then frozen immediately or sold fresh to groceries, restaurants, or walk-in customers. Smoked fish are at the center of a popular soup recipe that the fish company shares with customers.Once the fish arrive in Bay Port, a crew of eight to 18 workers begins the time-consuming process of fileting and de-boning the catch by hand. The company sends boats into Lake Huron to catch fish to sell, but also buys fish from trusted sources.In addition to the whitefish they catch themselves, the Williams family sells an array of fish and seafood purchased directly from other anglers they know and trust. Then, every morning at daylight for the next seven months, The Osprey motors out of Bay Port and returns in the afternoon loaded with whitefish. They quickly learned, though, and the business thrived.Fish come first in Bay PortĮach spring, Tod Williams and his crew climb aboard The Osprey and set their nets for the season in Lake Huron, about eight miles off Port Austin. In the beginning, the Williams brothers and Root knew little about commercial fishing. It’s a pretty neat way of life,” Lakon Williams says. “My dad catches the fish and I sell them. Renovations over the winter were carefully designed to continue to allow visitors to watch the crew clean and filet fish.Today, Tod Williams and his daughter, Lakon, carry on the family business in tiny Bay Port through a combination of wholesale and retail operations – and their thriving on-site store. ![]() That year, Tod Williams and his brother, Forrest, bought the business from Engelhard with their best friend, Dennis Root, even though none of them knew the first thing about commercial fishing. His sales grew so much over the years that in 1978 it became the Bay Port Fish Sandwich Festival. ![]() The fish sandwich frenzy began in 1949 when Henry Engelhard began selling fish sandwiches in front of his house to pay his daughter’s college tuition. ![]() in Michigan’s Thumb.The town of Bay Port (population 464) is probably best known for its annual Fish Sandwich Festival held the first full weekend of August. Whitefish, yellow perch, walleye, catfish, trout, cod, and more arrive daily by boat or truck to Bay Port Fish Co. Today, however, there are only 13 state-licensed commercial fisheries in Michigan – including Bay Port Fish. Established in 1895, Bay Port Fish was one of thousands of commercial fishing operations that flourished in the Great Lakes and employed tens of thousands of people. The Bay Port Fish store is open daily April through October and attracts visitors from across Michigan. “It’s definitely hard work, but we love it.” “On average, we haul in about 200,000 pounds of whitefish out of Lake Huron each season,” says Lakon Williams, whose family has owned the company since 1978. Today, Tod Williams and his daughter, Lakon, run the wholesale and retail operations in Bay Port.We’re talking lots of fish. If you like fish, you’re gonna love Bay Port Fish Company.įresh, flopping fish – lake whitefish, yellow perch, walleye, catfish, trout, cod, and more – arrive daily by boat or truck to this popular, family-operated commercial fishery in Michigan’s Thumb.
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