Duffy begins 55th season on inland sea

Charter captain Jack Duffy’s odometer doesn’t reflect the nautical miles behind him, which allows him to embark on his 55th season plying the Manitou Passage in search of native trout and salmon.

As he puts it, “What else would I do that’s this much fun?”

Duffy, a sprightly 78-year-old who still plies the deck of the “Whitecap” like a cat fast onto a mouse, is brutally honest about mistakes he’s made in life, breaks that fueled his success, and priorities that guide him now. Beyond having a knack for knowing where fish will be before they get there and his landing a staterecord brown trout, his frank talk and the joy he finds in people have made him one of the most-sought charter captains in Lake Michigan.