“I met Sam Worden, owner of Showtime Xtreme Charter, in 2019 when I booked his charter out of Grand Traverse West Bay. For years, I wanted to try charter fishing. However, my go-to Up North fishing buddy always talked me out of it, saying there’s no guaranteed catch (understood, after a lifetime of fishing), the weather could be questionable since you must schedule ahead of time (again, understood, that’s fishing), and that it’s expensive (what isn’t; and if it’s worthwhile, who cares). But, despite the well-intended warnings, I decided now that I was in my 60s, I wouldn’t deny myself the experience any longer,” writes Tim Mulherin in this excerpt from his book “This Magnetic North: Candid Conversations on a Changing Northern Michigan,” published by Michigan State University Press and available now at local bookstores.