Fishing 101

We are not in the business of ‘catching’ fish, but rather delivering the best quality product to the consumer. Our reputation, and therefore the price, is based on every single fish we put to market. In that vein, do not step, throw or lie on the fish, grab or throw them by the tail. Brailers are to be kept at 500 pounds. Fish are not to be kept in the sun or wind without protection. The bottom line is- would you feed it to your girlfriend/boyfriend or their parents?

Equipment. Yes I know, the trucks all look old and worn. Believe it or not, they have a minimum value of $20,000. Drive them as if: A.) How you would want me to drive yours, and B.) If we didn’t have them we would be doing all the work with our back – with your back. Mud and salt water are deadly to the vehicles and need to be addressed often and thoroughly. Weight is to be carried over the axle on both the truck and trailers. Do not place or allow the weight to shift.

Power packs. Please do not try and operate the power packs- aka reels. I know it looks simplistic, but there is a lot of ‘behind the scenes’ knowledge base that you have not learned. These have an outrageous value attached to them, monetarily as well as effort-based, and we are very protective of them.

Knowledge-base. Years of experience have made this look easy. We have made every mistake there is to make. We have made adjustments and placed contingency plans in place due to those mistakes. Please, trying to make changes is like asking us to go back in time. I promise you, if you think of it; we have not already thought of it, we have tired it. There is a reason why we do it the way we do. Respect that.

Skiff Position. There are three primary positions in the boat. If you are reading this for the first time, yours is corkline. You have three primary tasks while we pick fish.

• Push the corks down and away from the fairleads. Do not try to pul l the net into the boat, Push down, and the roller will do the work.
• Pull the bag of fish, in tandem with others, over the leads. This requires real effort. Please grab as big of handful of web as possible to prevent ripping the mesh. Also, when the net is loaded, the net needs to be helped over the center bar.
• Pick the fish. 
  

In order for us to be efficient, all three tasks need to be done in balance. If you simply pick the fish, you leave us frustrated and overworked or equipment working too hard for the task. Push, pull, pick.

Housekeeping. All housekeeping chores, hauling water, laundry, trash removal, is to be done during closures and not while we are fishing (if the nets are in the water, we are considered fishing). We will not pump water at the house while we are washing equipment, or gear. If you do pump water, return the hose to the same condition, and location in which you found it. Pump and remove all tanks from the trucks promptly.

Support items and zippers. We will be providing you with a variety of items. You are responsible for the care and maintenance of said items. Placing them in the sand or in the gurry will damage them, and you will be held responsible for the cost of replacing them. Zippers must be thoroughly washed BEFORE you try to unzip them. Keep your two-way communications tucked on the inside of your waders or coats.

Equipment. Each pair of sites requires a reel truck, a truck, a four-wheeler and a trailer. Every opening. If you are driving the four-wheeler home, then you will be responsible to get it and its trailer back to the site.

Knowledge-base. Want to look like a pro and increase your profits? Learn some trick of the trade. Taking the net up the line rather than waiting for the final pull not only make you look amazing, it also increases our set time substantially. Learn to guide the running line away from the net at the set, or how to guide it into a safer position will make the set go so much smoother. Keeping the corks from floating either by standing on them or holding them aloft will keep us from getting a ticket- and you from losing the day’s catch. Guiding us to the water’s edge to get a bigger first pull- it’s not the boey we are concerned about, but a floating cork. Get us as close as possible without crossing the line is what makes for an aggressive set. Checking the snaps and bridles position will keep us from making a costly mistake. In high winds, park the trucks facing into the wind before you open any doors. Realize that the tide is in a new spot on the beach for every opening. It is never exactly the same spot or the same distance in a pull. In that vein, the wind and size of tide will impact how the net acts, and how we react in relation. Learn to pick every fish from one side of the net; this and waiting for the net to near the beach on pickup is what will set you apart from a ‘newbie’ fisherman. Learn the lingo. It saves everyone so much energy. Plus, learn the knots!!

Conservation. Do not leave your heater on and open doors or windows, or preheat your oven while you are at the nets, nor leave vehicles idling or generators running all night. There is a finite amount of fuel delivered to the beach each year and no way to replenish. The same holds true for foodstuffs. What we ship on the barges in March is the supply we have for the summer.

Personal Responsibility. Though this it is team effort, we each need to be personally responsible. You need to ensure you are on the site, on time, and geared up. Additionally, monitor your safety (stand on the correct side of the line, mind your fingers in knots or blocks) and complete your tasks and chores without guidance. If there is problem, bring it to our attention. We cannot fix what we are ignorant of.
Everyone will have major cleanup duties before the season is over. NO one gets to escape them unless you are being medevaced out. Keep this in mind as we go through the coming weeks and try to plan ahead.

And last, but most certainly not least, morale. Bringing together a group of people is always a challenge. Asking them to live together in close quarters, throw in hard work and little sleep, and you have the recipe for three weeks of misery. I love every aspect of this industry, even when I am miserable, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. The opportunity to go toe-to-toe with other fishermen and work in tandem with mother-nature is just a good thing. Please try to keep that in mind. Please keep politics out of your conversations unless you can do so without rancor, please grant allowances to shortness of temper or fits of frustration, and we will do the same for you. Please remember that fishing isn’t just having the nets in the water. Yes, digging the new outhouse hole is as important as patching the net. Some of the work is less than fun. Jump in, work together and we can all go back to slinging slime. Whining about ‘waking up for $5.00” makes you a ‘newby’. We all want our nets loaded every day. This is simply not how fishing works. Fishing is about averages and means. It’s the bottom line at the end of a season.

And remember, if you’re not having fun, you are not doing it right!