Find delicious local fish in markets and restaurants across Northern Michigan.

Gates Au Sable Lodge

471 Stephan Bridge Rd, Grayling // 989.348.8462

Okay, this stretch of the Au Sable is catch and release only so that speckled brown trout that just leapt from the river 50 feet from your table is safe. In the kitchen, however, a less fortunate cousin in the hands of Chef Matt Haley is stuffed with aromatics, wrapped in bacon, seared crisp and splashed with lemon butter as Gates Lodge’s signature Trout Hemingway. Mild fleshed rainbow trout also end up smoked and served beside hash, blackened and flaked into tortillas with guacamole and cilantro lime slaw or slathered with fiery shrimp creole sauce and served with braised greens. Call ahead as Gates’ small dining room is full every night with fly fishermen trading lies and foodies commuting from all compass points to delight in inventive riparian cuisine.

There are so many places to indulge in fresh fish in Northern Michigan…

At the Market

Treaty Fish Comapny // 3400 West Bay Shore Dr., Peshawbestown // 231.620.5114
Find Ed and Cindi Johns at the Sarah Hardy Farmers Market for meticulously handled whitefish and lake trout they catch daily in West Bay.

John Cross Fisheries // 209 Belvedere, Charlevoix // 231.547.2532
Watch your dinner unloaded dockside at Charlevoix’s generational family fishery.

Gustafson’s Smoked Fish // 4467 US-2, Moran // 906.292.5424
Ask any Yooper where to find smoked fish and he’ll point you toward Gustafson’s just a short commute west of St. Ignace on US 2.

On the Table

Blu // 5705 South Lake St., Glen Arbor // 231.334.2530
Chef Randy Chamberlin honors Lake Michigan’s spotted bounty with crushed pecans and lemon beurre blanc in his Lake Trout Pecandine.

West End Tavern // 12719 S West Bay Shore Dr., Traverse City // 231.943.2922
Watch the waves lap while eating crispy walleye, crunchy slaw and spicy pickles on an airy brioche bun.

The Gangplank // 100 South State St., St. Ignace // 906.643.1500
Lake Superior whitefish makes a short commute south to be flash fried and served up in The Gangplank’s coveted fish tacos.

Photo(s) by Dave Weidner