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Joe Newago Jr., left, loads freshly caught lake trout and whitefish from his boat in Bayfield into his pickup truck along with crew member Tim Opatik.
Smoked lake herring is among the staples at Red Cliff Fish Company.
Paul Cadotte, left, and LeAngelo LaPointe chunk up freshly caught whitefish from Lake Superior in the processing room at the Red Cliff Fish Company north of Bayfield on the reservation of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
Kelly Holcomb runs the commercial kitchen at Red Cliff Fish Company. One of her duties is packaging smoked whitefish that is distributed to other Native American tribes around the state as part of a program to increase access to Indigenous foods for tribal elders 55 and older.
The docks in Bayfield were among the busiest in the state in the 1880s but commercial fishing has declined over the decades due to over harvesting and invasive species like the sea lamprey. The industry is now heavily regulated in an effort to manage sustainable fish populations.
This display in the Bayfield Maritime Museum shows the variety of fish that can be caught in Lake Superior.
Joe Bodin's family has been fishing Lake Superior since the 1880s. His processing facility and market is located on a dock in Bayfield.
Tim Opatik helps guide the Mackenzie May into the Bodin Dock in Bayfield last month. The boat had been fishing between Madeline and Michigan islands and harvested around 700 pounds of whitefish and lake trout.
Fillets of whitefish, left, and lake trout.
The 3,500-square-foot Red Cliff Fish Company opened in late 2020 and includes a retail shop that sells locally caught fish. Daniel Grooms, a member of the tribe, has been its manager since 2021.
LeAngelo LaPointe chunks up whitefish destined for a smoker at Red Cliff Fish Company north of Bayfield.
Fresh lake trout fill a tub at Red Cliff Fish Company north of Bayfield, but the vast majority of fish harvested from Lake Superior are whitefish and cisco, also known as lake herring.
Photos: Red Cliff Fish Company
The market and processing facility on the reservation of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is proving another outlet for tribal commercial fisherman.
Nick DePerry shovels fresh ice into a tub filled with whitefish caught just hours before on Lake Superior. After fish arrive at Red Cliff Fish Company they are weighed without ice, then covered in new ice before being filleted or cut into chunks. The facility at this time of the year processes between 10,000 and 15,000 pounds of fish per week.
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.
