Window Fishing is a Thing - Thanks to Fish & Finn in Lowell

 Luke Marin – The King of Window Fishing

Published in the Lowell Ledger 6.21.23

Spend any time at all with Luke Marin and his love of fishing will make itself known. It is no wonder that he and his wife Rachel decided to open Fish & Finn Outfitters and Consignment in 2022. Their shop is the best example of the truth that can be found in the real estate mantra of “location, location, location” this reporter has ever seen. The building at 98 East Main Street in Lowell is actually built over the Flat River. You read that correctly. Fish & Finn is one of a small group of stores on the south side of Main Street situated between two dams. The store is built on stilts over a small island.

Location, location, location - Fish & Finn is the brown building
on stilts over the Flat River in Lowell, Michigan.

Luke and Rachel jumped at the chance to be so close to a great fishing river, but the brainstorm to actually fish out of one of the windows at the rear of the store did not come to Luke immediately. “Well, I had to go to work,” Marin explained. “It made logical sense to stay here in the store so that I can help customers at the same time rather than go down by the river to fish.”

Fish & Finn - the Window Fishing Capital of the World.
Luke shows us how it is done.

Talk about a win-win situation. Window fishing at Fish & Finn provides shelter from the wildly changing weather we face in Michigan. The window provides a nicely heated or cooled environment as well as protection from rain or snow. It also serves as a perfect place to demonstrate the equipment the Marins stock in the store. Luke swept his arm from side to side in order to draw my attention to the ten different fishing poles that were within easy reach. The view from the window is perfect. While we were talking Luke baited a hook with one of the minnows he traps and sells and when he dropped it in the Flat River he quickly pulled it out before a turtle he could see heading toward it could grab a snack. Think of a flying bridge on a charter fishing boat, only without all the pitching back and forth from the movement of the water. No Dramamine is needed to window fish.

Luke recalled that the biggest fish he has taken from the window weighed about 10 pounds. He said that recently someone caught a female King Salmon that weighed about 20 pounds. He didn’t try to reel that big one up to the window, but he guided it to the edge of the island so a friend could scoop it up with a net. If you want to get a smile, head to their page on Facebook and take a look at the great pictures of fish caught from the window.

“People have caught tiger muskie, bluegill, sunfish, large mouth bass, small mouth bass, and king salmon from this window,” Luke said. “I catch and release a lot more than I take home. One time I caught a silver and black goldfish that was about ten inches long”. He figures someone tossed their pet into the river. He put it back.

A view of Fish & Finn from the island below the store.

Fish & Finn is about as family friendly as a store can get. To that point, the Marins named it after their two boys; Fisher and Finnian. They actually had the desire to open the store for several years before they did it. We mention this because they settled on the name way before the birth of their daughter, Elowyn aka “Lowie”. Not to worry, just because her name is not part of the store, you can rest assured that she is the queen of the place. When we last visited she was watching over the operation from her seat on the counter.

Anyone is welcome to stop in and do some window fishing. Luke told me about a family who asked if they could try it. When he assured them they could, they went home and got their grandma and they spent several hours trying their luck. Prior to her visit, Grandma was not a huge fan of fishing, but the fun she had window fishing put things in a whole new light.

To better understand how much Luke loves and knows about fishing, a little background is in order. He was born in the Virgin Islands. When his parents, who were both from Michigan, divorced, Luke would spend the school year in Michigan and summers in St Thomas with his dad. He got involved in competitive fishing as a young man. After graduation, he trained to become a professional guide at the Bald Mountain Outfitter Guide and Training School in Wyoming. He guided hunters in Texas for a while and served as First Mate on a couple of charter fishing boats in the Virgin Islands.

Rachel came from a bit of a different background. She was in cosmetology and trained cosmetology students at Douglas J before they opened the store. “Well, the store is kind of chaotic,” she said when comparing the two. “But in a way there was a lot of chaos dealing with the students I had.” After doing a lot of searching on the internet, Rachel felt secure in declaring Fish & Finn as “The Window Fishing Capitol of The World.” We did our own research and the only reference we could find was right in line with Rachel’s. We both found references to a publicity stunt by The Beatles when they were touring the US and fished out of the window of a hotel. When we consider the evidence gathered from their Facebook posts, we have to agree with their claim to fame.

Speaking of Lowell, the Marins absolutely love living, raising their family, and owning a business there. “I wasn’t born here, but I got here as quick as I could,” Luke said with a smile as he quoted a bumper sticker he had seen in Texas.

Rachel and Luke, along with Fisher, Finnian, and Lowie, would love to introduce you to the wonderful world of Window Fishing. Their store is open seven days a week and it is chock full of everything you might need to fish out of a window or from a boat or the bank of a river. Stop by and chances are pretty good you can meet the King of Window Fishing in person. You can get a great preview of all the fun at their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/FishAndFinnOutfitters