.jpg_1600.jpg)
Where’s the perfect place to have fun and enjoy wildlife? This is a loaded question with so many places on the Great Lakes alone for boaters to relax and take delight in the beauty of Mother Nature.
For Gail Swartz, the obvious answer to this question is Turtle Point Marina, located in the Western Basin of Lake Erie right next to Magee Marsh Wildlife Area. This means that visitors to the area are surrounded by areas of protected wildlife and have the unique opportunity to hunt and fish at the marina.
Turtle Point Marina is one of few marinas that sits right on the lakeshore of Lake Erie, allowing immediate access to the lake and its many wonders. The marina is only a short eight-mile boat ride away from West Sister Island, where boaters can enjoy an angler’s or hunter’s paradise. Bait and tackle are conveniently available to guests at the marina, making certain that everyone is fully stocked for a wonderful day out on the water.
“The wildlife, the national wildlife refuge, surrounds us, so we’re kind of truly on a peninsula with wildlife all around us that’s protected,” explained Swartz, general manager at Turtle Point Marina. “No hunting or fishing or anything on the refuge, so our marina is pretty unique.”
Swartz has worked at Turtle Point Marina as the general manager for only four years, but has been coming to the marina for 25 years. Some of her everyday responsibilities include pumping gas, selling bait, and managing the campsites. It sounds like tiresome work, but Swartz can’t get enough of it.
“This is a fun job! I love the people,” Swartz gushed. “We get lots of people like campers who are our friends and strangers that become our friends.”
When asked what keeps people coming back to the marina year after year Swartz replied, “It’s the lake, it’s the fishin, it’s the people.”
In addition to the hunting and fishing options available to boaters, guests are encouraged to have a good time on the water by bringing out their own water toys or working on their tan on the shores of Lake Erie.
“We’re doing all of the water sports over here, PWCs, and fishing and swimming and all of that,” Swartz detailed. “We’ve got a nice sandy beach right off our shore people can camp on. We’re all little water bugs down here.”
Boaters can hunt, fish, and play with their water toys anywhere, but it is Turtle Point Marina’s access to the Great Lakes that makes it one of the best destinations to have some fun in the sun.
Lake Erie is shallow in comparison to the other Great Lakes, making it unique when compared to the others. The marina has half a dozen reefs that are within five miles of the outlet and the reefs always hold fish.
“We’ve got an island about seven or eight miles out, so that holds again different fish, but when they go to spawn they run right in front of our campgrounds,” Swartz explained. “We’re on the spawn so everyone comes from states all around to get the wildlife here.”
The variety of fish and other wildlife make Turtle Point Marina a boat lover’s paradise.
For More Information:
Turtle Point Marina
418-898-2003
www.turtlepointmarinaresort.com
