This page is a record of my latest fishing trips. It also may contain tips and info mostly pertaining to fishing my favorite lake, Lake Michigan.
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My freind Chris Niesen (left) and I (right) back in 1980 fishing with dad from the North Pier.
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In Memory of My Father and the times we shared.
"A Night That I Will Never Forget "by Capt. Rich Gorske
This is a story of one of many of the times that my father took the time to take me fishing.
It lies close to my heart as both my father and my best freind from my youth are now gone
to a place where all the fish are lunkers and the weather is always perfect. My father
introduced me to fishing when I was 3 years old. I remember when my 1st bluegill was the
thirll of my life. We mainly fished inland from rented rowboats with a motor that only
seemed to run when you were within 10 feet of the dock. As I grew I became interested in
salmon fishing and it took me until age 18 to convince my dad to give it a try. My
childhood freind, Chris Niesen , whom I had fished the lake with from age 13 until his life
was tradgically taken at age 23, my father Norbert, and I headded for Racine's north pier
one balmy evening in early July in 1980. We had been doing well on kings after dark and
I had hoped to introduce my father to the thrill of a 20 lb king on 8 pound test in the dark.
We arrived before sundown and I pulled my 8 foot net several times in order to capture
enough alewifes to last the night. We kept the bait in a cooler with two aeriators to keep
them alive as live bait was better for night fishing. We each casted out two mitchell 300's
with a lively shad on the end with #4 hook and 3/4 oz egg sinker. I showed my dad how to
take up the slack in the line, open the bail, looping his line around a soda can
( 1/3 full of water), and positioning the can so that the line would go free once the can was
pulled over. This partmy dad did not pay close attention to! After listening to a few
hundred stories that my father was so well known for, midnight grew closer and we were
starting to relax to the sounds and smell of the water. My dad had brought his favorite
lawn chair and was definately the most relaxed of the group. We could tell by his
loud snoring. It seemed louder than the foghorn at the end of the pier.The first can went
over at 12:30 and woke us all suddenly from a sound sleep. Chris had a screaming drag
and a nice sized fish on his line and the adrenaline began to flow. Shortly after that I
hooked one up as well. After 30 minutes of playing tug of war we landed a pair of kings in
the upper teens. My dad was intrigued by this and stayed awake for the rest of the night .
He had altered my set up sometime during the course of the night as he always had a
"better way" that seemed to make us chuckle when we needed to the most. He had
closed the bail on one of his reels, tied the handle to his favorite chair, and then tied the
chair to his bucket which he neglected to fill with water to provide the needed weight to
stop the inevitable from happening. Dawn was starting to break and Chris was fighting
another teenage king when I noticed dad's alternate set up. He was watching Chris battle
his king and was a good 30 feet from his rods. I urged him to stay close to his poles and
open the bail on his rod as the action was improving with the presence of swirling bait in
the area. Then it finally happened! Dad's first king! The can went down, the line went
taught, I yelled to him just in time for us to see a king ( mid 20 lbs or so ) leap into
the air, and then run with back and dorsal fin out of the water away from the pier toward
the coming sunrise. The next thing we saw was the rod, followed by the chair,
followed by the empty bucket, launched from the pier like a rock from a catapult.
The rod came free of the sinking chair and eventually of the fish as well. The highlight
was watching the fish jump six times before freeing himself! We laughed until tears
streamed from our faces and our bellies ached with pains of joy. We managed to land
6 of 12 kings that night and most importantly, dad had begun to enjoy the
Lake Michigan fishing that Chris and I learned to love. I will miss the phone calls that
dad used to make asking how my last charter went. I will miss him nagging me to get
my stepson to mow his lawn. I will miss seeing him fall asleep in his favorite chair in front
of the television set. Most of all I will miss the Man who took the time to introduce me to
the sport that I have grown to love so much. May God bless
My Father , Norbert E. Gorske , born 6/27/33 and recently departed on 10/5/2000.
Dad , you will be with me in my heart every time my boat leaves the dock.
updated on 10/10/2000 by the Fishmeister
If you have any questions or comments to share please feel free to send me email.
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