Thill and Sons Fish House

A widely known “rule” in starting a retail business is location, location, location. Lake Superior commercial fisherman Francis Thill certainly took that rule to heart in 1961 when he opened Thill Fish House in Marquette just a stone’s throw away from the historic ore dock in the city’s lower harbor. 

“The story goes that grandpa just got tired of people coming up to him (wanting fish) after he’d come in off the water and docked the boat. So, he bought this building and opened a retail store, “ said Adam Thill, Francis’s grandson and current co-owner of Thill and Sons Fish House. 

Fast forward more than 60 years later and this historic, family-run business, now in its third generation of ownership, is still thriving in the same fish house grandpa bought all those years ago.

Adam and his older brother Dan took over the business in 2021 from their dad, Ted. 

“We have been doing just fine these past few years,” Adam explained. “The fishing on Lake Superior has been going well.”

While their fish market is open year-round, the actual fishing that the Thill family does is six months, at best, from mid-May to November. They are licensed to catch one thing, and that is white fish.
Dan and his two sons (fourth generation Thills) run the Linda Lee – a 40-foot, open-deck, trap-net boat with lots of nautical miles under her hull. 

“We are regulated or licensed by the Michigan DNR (Department of Natural Resources) to fish 50 miles out from port,” Adam explained. “As well there are net limits or quotas in certain areas we are allowed to fish.”

He said that a good day of fishing equates to a ton of fish brought back to the shop.

Adam, age 43, said the challenge these days is finding other commercial fishermen to buy fish from in order to stock their cold cases with more than Great Lakes white fish.

“I am afraid to say it, but commercial fishing is a dying industry,” he related. “We do not have half as many tribal fishermen on the lake that we used to, and that is where we were getting a lot of our fish from. On average (these days) I will get fresh fish once a month. There was a time when that was once a day.”

In the glass case at Thills these days are displayed fillets of smoked white fish, smoked trout, fresh-farm salmon and some fresh cod as well. Canadian perch and walleye are in there as well. 

As the liturgical calendar turns to Lent in a few days, Adam said they will see a slight uptick in sales but not like it used to be. 

“I can remember dad telling us what a big deal Lent was for us and the business,” Adam explained. “Everybody was picking up fish at that time, and we would go through a lot of fish at Lent – not as much today. Part of that is that there are so many other options out there.”

In addition, Adam noted that a local parish fish fry on Friday is becoming hard to find.

“That is something else that has changed,” he lamented. “I can remember growing up at St. Christopher (Marquette) and having a fish fry not just during Lent but throughout the year. We helped dad (as needed) and his brothers run that fish fry. Dad donated the fish (he caught) or gave it at a low price. They just stopped doing that (fish fry) because they can’t get enough volunteers to run it.”

Adam, who along with his wife and children are members of St. Michael Parish, said their busy season these days is summer. 

“Between tourism and all of our fresh fish we double our business in the summertime,” stated Adam. 

His dad, who now winters in Florida, is still a frequent helper at the fish house during the U.P. summers. Ted will turn 70 this year.

“He taught us well,” said Adam. “Hard work and dedication have been instilled in us since we were young, and that has certainly kept us going.”

To read this story and others in The U.P. Catholic, visit https://www.upcatholic.org/UP-Catholic-02172023-e-Edition/12/