Susie Q Fish Market

SusieQFishMarket_logo.jpg

The LeClair family has been fishing Lake Michigan from Two Rivers for more than 130 years! Our French Canadian descendents began moving to this area in the mid-1800s from Quebec; the LeClairs, Allies, Gautheirs, Gagnons, LaFonds, Vaudreuils, Lonzeau, and Sanvilles. Most ran commercial fishing operations - and the LeClairs are still at it - plying the waters of Lake Michigan just as our forefathers did!

In the 1880’s, Albert LeClair traveled from Canada and settled in Two Creeks, about 10 miles from Two Rivers. Albert farmed for a few years and then decided in the 1900s to start fishing on Lake Michigan for lake trout in row boats and sail boats.

In 1946, Two Rivers had 18 fishing operations. They expanded to different fishing gear, like drop nets and deep-waterpond nets. They also began building chub boats to fish gill nets in deep water. In 1944, Peter LeClair started working for his father Joe (son of Charles). When Peter graduated in 1946, he became a full-time fisherman. In 1950, Peter purchased his father’s gill net boat and fished until 1962.

In 1966, Peter’s son Michael started fishing part-time. When Michael graduated from high school in 1970, he became a full-time fisherman. Peter and Michael decided in 1980 to open a fish market in Two Rivers, called Susie Q Fish Market. They started out with 2 smokehouses and later added 4 more smokehouses. Chubs, salmon, trout, whitefish, herring, and carp are the fish that are smoked. Susie Q’s smoked fish can be found throughout the Midwest.