In Tribute to Adolph Sakowicz

Adolph Frank Sakowicz was born in Indiana Harbor, Indiana, on October 1, 1925. He served as a Corporal in The U. S. Army and was stationed in Korea in 1954. After Adolph got out of the service, he went to work as a Ford mechanic, working for various Chicago area Ford dealers until retiring in 1990. It was during the mid 1950’s when Adolph began taking fishing trips to the Chippewa Flowage with his buddies, George Meskeo, Red Barber, and Bill Swehla. His first time up, Adolph and George stayed at Proski’s Little Poland Resort.

In 1958, Adolph married Rose Hirsch (Fred’s sister), bringing her up to Indian Trail for the first time the following season. Elsie had no cabins available, so she put the "newlyweds" up in the yardboy’s quarters upstairs in the Bunkhouse. Adolph and Rose soon befriended two other couples at the resort, Walt and Kay Roman and Ken and Lena Waller, and from that point on, they all tried to schedule their vacations together at the Trail’s. Both of Polish decent and fellow Chicagoans, Adolph and Walt hit it off especially well and would often fish together. Between Adolph’s playful sarcasm and Walt’s loud and often foul mouth, the two made quite the comical team out on the water.

Adolph and Rose stayed in Cabin 1 for three weeks every summer, until putting in a nice trailer up in the trailer court in 1976. The first honorary Mayor of the Hill, Adolph was to remain a fixture at Indian Trail Resort until selling his trailer and moving to Hayward with Rose in 2000.

One of Adolph’s biggest muskie catches was a 23¼ pounder that he caught during a hot muskie streak that he had during the Fourth of July week of 1968. He was fishing with Ron Dettloff on Weedy Shore, near the small grass patch that use to be there, where Ron had previously seen a huge muskie that may have gone 40 pounds. A short time later, Ron spotted a wake behind Adolph’s black Globe and said, "Watch out, here he comes!" The fish nailed his lure and Adolph was into a big one. Although it wasn’t the big one Ron had seen, it was a trophy fish none-the-less.

Although Adolph had caught a number of muskies throughout the years out of Indian Trail, he wasn’t one to take it quite as seriously as his friend Walt. There were other fish to fry Adolph thought, and what better fish to go after than walleye. Adolph seemed especially at peace when quietly working the shallows during the evenings in his favorite little hidden spots that he liked to frequent: Cedar Swamp, Cranberry Lake, or (in his favorite spot) the Sticks. This is where Adolph was truly at home, casting rapalas for his preferred quarry…the walleye. During the day, Adolph would work the deeper ledges and dropoffs with live bait (and sometimes even dead bait). He once caught a 7 pound walleye on a dead minnow.

Adolph was also a licensed charter captain for about five years on Lake Michigan, taking guests out for coho and perch on a boat that was owned by Al Sckakey. Adolph Sakowicz passed away in Hayward on November 7, 2002, at the age of 75. Although his fishing days are now behind him, each evening in the Sticks at around sundown, if it is real quiet… his spirit can be still sensed.