I remember the baby-sitter my parents hired to take care of me at our rented cabin on East Lake in Kalkaska County so they could go fishing during our annual one week escape from the north end of Lansing in late July. By the time I was six I was going in the boat with my folks. The dog and I would play in the bow; him growling at anything floating upon or poking through the water’s surface while I tried to capture baby painted turtles with the landing net. In spite of the antics of Major and me in the front of the boat, my parents caught fish---many, large fish, usually largemouth bass, but also northern, walleye, smallmouth bass, perch, bluegills, rock bass, crappie, and, on occasion, trout.

I caught my first pound and a half keeper bass when I was 9. It looks small in the picture now, but seemed huge then. It’s dwarfed next to the photo of the 6 and 3/4 pound largemouth my dad caught on a Johnson Silver Minnow with a pork rind. My cousin and I, in our early teens by then, were fishing with my dad on Smith Lake. Dad had cast the bait next to the shore over a huge, nearly sunken, pine tree. There was a sucking sound and a sort of whirl-pool and the line on my dad’s pole sprung tight and the rod bent into a C. The lure got caught on the log with the fish still hooked. So, I had to get out of the boat onto the slippery log and trace the line down to where the spoon was hooked and release it with my hand, an inch from a gaping mouth that looked big enough to swallow my arm! I was able to get a grip on the spoon and just lifted the huge fish into the boat where my cousin wrestled it to the floor while my Dad removed the lure and got the bass on the stringer. My dad nailed the head on a tree, and we ate the fish; huge, boneless filets. What my parents and I did, during any time off, was fish, unless we were hunting. I’ve eaten every kind of fish that is fished for in Michigan.

When my parents passed away, I inherited all the fishing gear. The boat is a 14 foot Starcraft aluminum row boat with all the State stickers from current back to 1963. The Johnson 4 horse outboard motor is 25 years old and still purrs like a kitten for trolling. Now my children are taking my grandchildren fishing in the boat.

Our boat has been drug through swamps, bogs, woods, and various other versions of Nature’s obstacle courses to gain access to most of the lakes between the Huron Mountain Club and Amasa. I don’t know how many inland lakes there are in Lower Michigan, but our boat has been on a great number of them from the Bridge to south of Jackson. I would guess half of them, but I could be way off. Propulsion was usually with oars, especially on the the rocky, dark waters of Baraga County or the Lower P’s shallow, marl lakes. I remember the first time our fishing was ruined by a speed boater, back in the mid 50’s. My folks and I were fishing for bass, along the shore in the lilies, on north east of Lansing. It was a beautiful, still, late summer evening with all kinds of insects dancing in the beams of the setting sun to the music of the male red wings. The lake was like glass which appeared to shatter when bass would burst through the surface to strike our lure. I remember hearing the roar and thinking it was a low flying airplane. Suddenly a big, long, pointy boat with a huge outboard motor tore through the lilies between us and the shore, nearly catching our lines. I’ll never forget the sort of cartoon-like curtain of lily pad pieces rising in a high arc behind the craft, and learning some new words from my Dad. It’s interesting that I’ve been fishing hundreds of times and that one bad incident sticks in my mind so vividly.

We’re going to lose the fishing on Deer Lake in Alger County if the DNR puts in a boat ramp on the east end. Folks from downstate who have driven on M-28 between Munising and Marquette will remember Deer Lake as the beautiful, tranquil MDOT roadside park with its swimming beach and picnic area. You will also remember the big white pine trees in the park and in the adjacent forest. Currently, people who want to fish Deer Lake do the same thing I do, drag our boat from the MDOT parking lot to the lake and go fishing. Once the jetskis and speed boats are allowed on that little lake the fishing will be done for. Forever!

I have close friends, a married couple, that play host to the woman’s elderly grandfather for a few weeks each year. Leo is in his eighties and loves to fish. The couple had to attend a meeting one day, so to provide a pleasant experience for Leo they took him down to Cowell Lake south of Shingleton. Leo was left there in their 14 foot boat to enjoy the day fishing. When they came back to pick him up, they were appalled to see six jetskis circling Leo’s boat like a couple of deerflies! Needless to say, those two vandals on PWC’s ruined the day for three people, and certainly didn’t help Leo’s blood pressure! Just wait until the power boaters have open house at Deer Lake!

As a fisherman, what I recommend for launching a boat on Deer Lake, is a gravel drive from the MDOT parking lot where one could back a trailer with a small boat. There’s plenty of room to park a vehicle with a trailer while fishing, and there are new toilets and picnic tables and drinking water at the park. The big pines in the adjacent forest, where the MDNR wants to build their boat launch, would be preserved and the wetland wouldn’t have to be dredged. There could be a small wooden dock and fishing platform with handicap access.

A ban on gasoline fueled motors from the lake would stop vandals with power boats from ruining it for fishermen and others. It would also reduce the threat of gasoline and oil pollution and introduction of exotic species into Deer Lake.

The DNR has been trying to get the support of fishermen with the bribe that walleyes will be planted if the boat launch goes in. Deer Lake doesn’t need to be planted with thousands of walleyes. Especially if the DNR is going to poison it again like they did in the ‘70s. There’s a well balanced population of northerns, walleyes, smallmouths, and rock bass in the lake which provide great sport for fishermen competent enough to catch them. Steelheads and salmon run up Sucker Creek into Deer Lake during spawning seasons. It probably isn’t a good lake upon which to hold a fishing derby, but then, most persons fish for reasons other than competition. With prudent fishing and reduced environmental damage, the lake will remain healthy for a long time to come.