For years people have viewed my 1975 portrait of the Ludington commercial fishing wharf and been very quick to identify the location as Fishtown in Leland. Most people never saw or don’t remember what the Pere Marquette Lake waterfront at what is now Ludington Municipal Marina looked like 45 years or more ago. I remember. I loved the fishing boats, the fish shanties and the commercial fishermen there. I made a lot of images before the fishermen were driven out of business, the fish markets closed, and the buildings torn down or moved. This is the best image I ever made of the entire wharf. I made it from the end of the Number One carferry slip, which also is gone now. The rugged old fish tugs pictured here are (from left) Jim and Ron Walters’ tug LaBlanche, Alex and Louis Cloutier’s tug Vanderberg Bros., and Leo Cloutier’s tug Flipper. The tiny building (far left) that looks like an ice fishing shanty was the “clubhouse” where I was told the fishermen used to meet to converse and play cards. The commercial fishing buildings include (right to left) Peterson’s Fish Market, last operated by Ed Stowe and Lindquist’s Fish Market. The buildings were also used to store and repair fishnets.