A fishing Voyage to Remember
By Chauncey Niziol
Last week, I took one of the most enjoyable trips that I can ever remember on Lake Michigan. I went fishing with my daughter Sarah and her
three friends, Susie, Danielle and Sarah. These 16-year old girls had never been salmon fishing on Lake Michigan and they were as excited as anyone
could imagine. We left early in the morning to meet Captain Tony Bovenzo of Diamond Ghost Charters in Winthrop Harbor, which is very close to the
Wisconsin - Illinois border. After a little fishing talk we were all on board and heading out of the harbor. The lake was almost flat calm that early, but
did increase to about three foot rollers by noon. A three foot roller is no problem to handle, and all the girls did very well not getting sea sick. Captian
Tony really took the time to explain to the three girls all the equipment they would be seeing. He explained the way a downrigger works, and how the
big lead ball holds the lure at a given dept until the fish strike the lure. He explained how after the fish was hooked, the line pops off the downrigger ball
and the fishing rod will spring up. The girls then instructed to pull the rod out of the holder and crank the handle while they kept thr rod up to absorb the
shock of the fish fighting. Captian Tony also explained how the Dipsy Divers and the Yellow Birds took the lures away from the sides of the boat but did
not go as deep as the downriggers.
We sure didn"t have to wait long before the first rod popped, and my daughter Sarah brought in the first fish - a coho salmon about 3.5 pounds and perfect
for the table. The next rod poped and Danielle ("Big D") took a grip and played in another salmon almost with the ease of an old pro. The next series of fish
fell to Susie and Sarah with out any hesitation from the girls to get into the sport. After every fish each girl was cheered by the other as if she just won a cham-
pionship game. What Captian Tony and I took the most enjoyment iin was handing the fishing poles to the girls and letting them fight the fish on their own.
Catching the fish for us became further and further from our goal. Wathing each girl getting more and more excited about watching lines, seeing fish that just
slapped the lure, or cheering each other on was better than any fish I have ever taken. As the girls became more comfortable, they opened up and laughed,
teased and told each ther how to catch the fish. By the end of the morning, we had lost about 10 fish and boated 25.
We took cohoo, lake trout, kings and a couple of prime steelhead. The largest fish of the day went to Susie Smith, she took a steelhead that was approximatly
10 or 11 pounds. When we came back into the dock we took some of the best fishing picture Captain Tony an I ever seen. There were the four girls holding a
board with the Diamond Ghost Charters name and 15 to 20 fish, hanging from the sign. I asked the girls if salmon fishing is something the would recommend
to thier other girl friends to try. Each one of them answered with a confident yes! This was so much fun we can't wait until we do it again. By the way they
asked, "when is the next trip?" I have to give Captian Tony a lot of credit for spending so much time explaining and helping the girls out.
When you someone like Captain Tony doing what he loves to do, especially with a group of young fisherwomen you can only hope you never forget how
much fun you have fishing with your kids, nieces, nephews or your daughter's freinds. Thank the girls for making our day.
Last week, I took one of the most enjoyable trips that I can ever remember on Lake Michigan. I went fishing with my daughter Sarah and her
three friends, Susie, Danielle and Sarah. These 16-year old girls had never been salmon fishing on Lake Michigan and they were as excited as anyone
could imagine. We left early in the morning to meet Captain Tony Bovenzo of Diamond Ghost Charters in Winthrop Harbor, which is very close to the
Wisconsin - Illinois border. After a little fishing talk we were all on board and heading out of the harbor. The lake was almost flat calm that early, but
did increase to about three foot rollers by noon. A three foot roller is no problem to handle, and all the girls did very well not getting sea sick. Captian
Tony really took the time to explain to the three girls all the equipment they would be seeing. He explained the way a downrigger works, and how the
big lead ball holds the lure at a given dept until the fish strike the lure. He explained how after the fish was hooked, the line pops off the downrigger ball
and the fishing rod will spring up. The girls then instructed to pull the rod out of the holder and crank the handle while they kept thr rod up to absorb the
shock of the fish fighting. Captian Tony also explained how the Dipsy Divers and the Yellow Birds took the lures away from the sides of the boat but did
not go as deep as the downriggers.
We sure didn"t have to wait long before the first rod popped, and my daughter Sarah brought in the first fish - a coho salmon about 3.5 pounds and perfect
for the table. The next rod poped and Danielle ("Big D") took a grip and played in another salmon almost with the ease of an old pro. The next series of fish
fell to Susie and Sarah with out any hesitation from the girls to get into the sport. After every fish each girl was cheered by the other as if she just won a cham-
pionship game. What Captian Tony and I took the most enjoyment iin was handing the fishing poles to the girls and letting them fight the fish on their own.
Catching the fish for us became further and further from our goal. Wathing each girl getting more and more excited about watching lines, seeing fish that just
slapped the lure, or cheering each other on was better than any fish I have ever taken. As the girls became more comfortable, they opened up and laughed,
teased and told each ther how to catch the fish. By the end of the morning, we had lost about 10 fish and boated 25.
We took cohoo, lake trout, kings and a couple of prime steelhead. The largest fish of the day went to Susie Smith, she took a steelhead that was approximatly
10 or 11 pounds. When we came back into the dock we took some of the best fishing picture Captain Tony an I ever seen. There were the four girls holding a
board with the Diamond Ghost Charters name and 15 to 20 fish, hanging from the sign. I asked the girls if salmon fishing is something the would recommend
to thier other girl friends to try. Each one of them answered with a confident yes! This was so much fun we can't wait until we do it again. By the way they
asked, "when is the next trip?" I have to give Captian Tony a lot of credit for spending so much time explaining and helping the girls out.
When you someone like Captain Tony doing what he loves to do, especially with a group of young fisherwomen you can only hope you never forget how
much fun you have fishing with your kids, nieces, nephews or your daughter's freinds. Thank the girls for making our day.
F.A.Q. North Point Marina Directions Boat Location
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