Charter Fisherman Creating a Unique and Memorable Experience off the Shores of Waukegan Harbor

By: Jonathan Jones 05/08/2013

As we continue to celebrate National Travel & Tourism Week and educating everyone on the importance of travel, today’s featured front line work in the Lake County Tourism & Hospitality industry is Captain Rick Bentley of Windy City Salmon Charter Fishing out of Waukegan Harbor.

I met Captain Rick last summer when I went charter fishing. Not knowing much about charter fishing and what I will experience, I found Captain Rick to be a superb guide. He explained everything from the rods and reels we were using, the type of fish we were catching, how he finds the fish, to cleaning the fish and which restaurants in Waukegan will good your salmon for you. He grew up in Libertyville and now resides in Waukegan and originally began fishing the Lake Michigan waters off Waukegan Harbor for salmon & trout when he was about 12 years old and in only several years was being actively pursued to run the rods on the deck as a first mate for many different captains in Waukegan. He left the industry for a job in the financial services field after graduating college with a degree in Finance & Economics, but returned in his mid-30's after missing the excitement and fun of charter fishing. Capt. Rick returned to Waukegan Harbor as a charter fishing guide full-time to share the skills and techniques he learned when he was younger into a sport for which he holds an intense passion for. Speaking from experience, I know for a fact that Capt. Rick will provide you with a charter fishing memory that you will not forget. Here are some questions that we asked Capt. Rick on why he loves working in the tourism industry.

What do you enjoy most about your job? Being outside, on the water at sunrise fishing. It's a special time of day and few people in Chicago get up in time to enjoy a sunrise ... and even fewer get to see it from a boat when fishing on Lake Michigan. It's a true gem and once people see it for the first time, waking up early to fish again in the future is never a second guess.

How does tourism effect your job? About a 1/3 of my customers come from out of state, out of the country or not from the immediate Chicago metro area. So in that regard, I get a fair amount of business from that segment of the market. It's surprising how it seems that more people from this market segment are aware that there is good fishing for salmon and trout in Lake Michigan than a lot of the residents in the area.

What gives you the most joy when serving guests? I of course get satisfaction in being able to fulfill l customers' desires to catch their first salmon or trout and often times the fish they catch with me are the biggest they've ever caught in their life. But I also enjoy being able to make my service compete with professional sporting events of all kinds in Chicago as well as a nice dinner or a round of golf at a nice course. Charter fishing is more memorable, more unique experience for everyone that comes but especially for visitors since it ends up being part of their vacation. And in the end, they help support a small business too.

What lead you to joining the tourism industry? I worked as a deckhand/first mate from ages 14-21 on a lot of different boats out of Waukegan Harbor. I moved on to the 'real world' and worked in finance for 13 years before deciding to make a career change and return to the charter fishing industry as a captain and business owner. That was six years ago. It was a major change for me and that financial career seems a lifetime ago. I feel that I could never go back to that unless I really had to. I also enjoy the people that come on board. I meet people from all over the Chicago area as well as from out of state and abroad. In many regards a lot of my customers have become my friends and I consider them all part of the Windycitysalmon family.

How do you try to make a guests experience more joyful? Most customers that come out of me tell me that my fishing charters are different than the others they have been on. And it's not really one thing that I do but all ingredients of a broader, collective effort to not only get on good fishing but telling them about the history of the fishery and the lake as well as sort of walking them through my own thought process of why I am doing what I am doing to catch fish. I like to present them with the variables that I am considering in my mind and tell them about the decisions I am making. All of that brings the customers in closer to a broader experience. Beyond that too, everyday I am excited to be fishing and that enjoyment that I feel is not acted out in any way and that resonates when I am on the water.