GRAMPA'S ADVICE

Conditions can be frigid in the spring. 

  Each customer I take out on Lake Michigan gets either an email from me or a letter through the regular mail that gives them directions to the marina, advice such as “don’t forget sun screen,” and other tidbits of information. Among the tidbits is a saying I learned from my dad who was quoting my great grandfather, a man of whom I have only scant remembrance.
 
  Grampa Charlie’s advice is, “It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.”  Wise words and none better when figuring what kind of clothing to choose for a day on Lake Michigan.

Conditions can be tropical in the summer. 

  One of the advantages of fishing on the Brother Nature is it’s open and roomy for fishermen. One of the disadvantages is the same, especially the “open” part. If it’s sunny, you’ll be in the sun. If it’s cold you’ll be in the cold.  So dress accordingly. And dress for the time of day you’ll be out there.

  If the high is predicted to be 90 degrees, light clothing is all you’ll need. However, if we are leaving the dock at dawn and it will only be 65 degrees at that time, you are going to be chilly in a tee-shirt and shorts.

  Don’t forget the lake affect, either. Ninety degrees on land doesn’t mean 90 degrees if we are 15 miles offshore in 64 degree surface water. If there’s much of a breeze, the on-board temperature may not exceed lower 70s all day.

 

So plan it out and tote it along.  I do, everyday. I might have only a scant memory of my ol’ grampa Charlie, but I remember his words. “It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.”