Following the Fish

“Michael Risku’s utterly readable Following the Fish offers a delightfully comprehensive look at commercial fishing along Lake Superior’s North Shore. Readers will smell the herring smoking and look into the lined faces of the weather-beaten men who scoured the big lake for their catch. Risku casts his net far, collecting a vast haul of history and geography while chronicling an all-but-vanished lifestyle.” –Curt Brown, author of Minnesota 1918: When Flu, Fire, and War Ravaged the State and So Terrible a Storm: A Tale of Fury on Lake Superior

“Through a personal connection to the history of Lake Superior’s commercial fishing culture, Michael Risku gracefully weaves the story of the industry from its earliest days through the present, from Duluth to the Canadian border. A must-read for fans of Minnesota’s North Shore.” –Lee Radzak, author of The View from Split Rock: A Lighthouse Keeper’s Life

“Following the Fish: A History of Commercial Fishing Along Minnesota’s North Shore turns out to be a book I was longing to read all my adult life–though I didn’t quite know that because it hadn’t been written yet. Michael Risku somehow melds his personal experience, a rich haul of information captured through exhaustive research, the voices of old-time fisherfolk, legends and lake lore, science and romance into a comprehensive, compelling narrative delivered in clear, vigorous prose. This book will fascinate–not just now, but years from now.” –Barton Sutter, author of Cold Comfort: Life at the Top of the Map

Born into a commercial fishing family, Michael Risku served in the US Navy, holds a Coast Guard captain’s license, and is a distinguished chair and professor emeritus from the University of the Incarnate Word. He lives in Two Harbors, Minnesota.

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