FBESH-HALIBUT FISHEET. 13 



can be done well, and, as a role, many of those who accomplish the task quickest are not always the 

 best fishermen, as they are apt to do their work in an incomplete manner. 



METHODS OP FISHING. 



SETTING TRAWLS. The ordinary manner of setting a trawl is in a straight line, and is per- 

 formed by two men, though in special emergencies three men may be required. When a set is to 

 be made the buoys, buoy-lines, and anchors are put in their proper places in the dories before the 

 boats are hoisted off deck. When the dory is in the water, one man gets into her, and another 

 reaches him the trawls that have previously been baited (and may be two, three, or four skates, 

 according to circumstances). When, however, the dories are out, and at the stern, as is usually 

 the case in the day-time, when a vessel is at anchor on the bank, the performance varies somewhat 

 from the foregoing, and is accomplished in the following manner : 



First, the dory is hauled alongside on the quarter, and one man jumps into her, while his 

 dory-mate lifts the trawls upon the rail, and, watching the proper chance, lets them drop into the 

 middle of the boat. After the trawls are in, one man takes the oars and pulls, while, as soon as 

 the proper position is reached, the one aft throws out the buoy, then pays out the buoy-line, and 

 when he gets it all out, lifts a skate of trawl upon the thwart in front of him, unties the skate- 

 ropes, makes the end of the trawl fast to the anchor (the buoy-line is always, on the bank, made 

 fast to the anchor), which he heaves overboard, and then throws out hook after hook of the trawl 

 as he comes to them. When one skate is out another is lifted into its place, the ends of the line 

 are tied together, and the performance goes on until all of the trawl is out, when the end of it is 

 made fast to the second anchor, which is let go, the buoy-line is paid out, and lastly the buoy is 

 thrown overboard, which completes the operation of setting. If the trawl must be set to wind- 

 ward of the vessel, the method differs in this respect : .both men sit down to their oars as soon as 

 they leave the schooner, and row until they reach a position about the length of their trawl to 

 windward, where they begin to set. 



When trawls are set for the first time in a berth they are usually spread around the vessel in 

 the form of a star, as illustrated by the following diagram : 



Since each of these lines is from 1 to 2 miles 

 or more in length, it will readily be perceived that 

 a large area of sea bottom, more or less nearly 

 approximating to the form of a circle, of which 

 the vessel is the center, is covered by the gear ; 

 and one set of the trawls made in this manner 

 usually determines whether or not there are 

 any halibut of importance within 1J to 3 miles on 

 either side of where the schooner is lying at 

 anchor. This method is Varied in seasons whea 

 halibut are only found in deep water and the 

 schooner is lying at anchor on the edge of a 

 bank, perhaps in 150 fathoms. (There can be 

 no general rule laid down about the depth, as it 

 varies in different localities, from less than 100 to 250 fathoms, where the vessels anchor.) 



The manner of setting trawls in such cases is commonly as follows : It is well known to be of 

 little use to try on the shoal- water side of the vessel, so they are set in the form of a fan, as in the 

 figure. 



