FRESH-HALIBUT FISHERY. 35 
in the halibut fishery are tight bottoms, it not infrequently happens that a welled smack fishing 
for cod off Nantucket may sometimes catch a number of halibut, which are taken to New York alive, 
and, of course, bring a high | price. 
Mr. JoHN FLETCHER WONSON’S RECOLLECTIONS.—Mr. Johu Fletcher Wonson tells us that 
the Gloucester vessels frequently went to New York with fares of halibut in early times, and that 
this practice was kept up as late as 1849 to 1850. Speaking of the abundance of halibut, he also 
tells us that at one time he saw ten of them follow the deep-sea lead to the surface, biting at it. 
He remembers to have taken an ice-bird out of the stomach of a halibut, and at another time 
some mackerel. 
The New London vessels, according to Mr. Wonson, began catching halibut for the New York 
market on George’s somewhere between 1840 and 1845. The New London fishermen cared nothing 
for cod, and the Wonsons often exchanged with them a few halibut for a boat-load of cod. The 
New London fleet was first composed entirely of sloops. Mr. Wonson remembers to have counted 
forty at one time in 1845 or 1846. In 1846 several schooners made their appearance. 
In 1845, and until 1850, Mr. Wonson fished chiefly on the northwest part of the Bank in about 
28 fathoms, though sometimes in 15 or 16 fathoms. One fare of fish was caught inside of the 
breakers on the shoals. For bait, the early halibut fishermen used chiefly herring, caught on the 
Banks. 
RECOLLECTIONS oF W. H. Wonson.—Mr. William H. Wonson, of Gloucester, who was 
engaged in the halibut fishery from 1838 to 1850, and has since been extensively interested in 
halibut smoking, communicated to us the following facts regarding this fishery : 
At that time the fleet was composed of vessels of 50 or 60 tons, many of them with pink sterns. 
The favorite fishing ground was on the northern edge of the Bank in 30 fathoms of water. The 
usual length of the trip was ten days. Mr. Wonson has been out and back in forty-eight hours. 
Leaving Gloucester at 2 o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday, he was back on Monday p. m. with 
30,000 pounds of fish caught within 1 or 2 miles of the north shoal. 
The year before the halibut gave out, fishermen used to find great pieces of halibut in the 
throats of the cod; nearly all the cod taken the last year had pieces of halibut in them. 
Previous to 1848, when the vessels struck the southern part of the Bank, cod would last one 
day, then the halibut would gather around and haul the codfish off the hooks. It was not unusual 
for a vessel to anchor on the Bank at 11 o’clock in the forenoon and at evening heave up anchor 
with 7,000 pounds halibut on board. 
In 1838 10,000 or 15,000 pounds was a fair trip; never more than 20,000 pounds were taken. 
At that time the fleet of fifteen or twenty sail used to start halibuting in February, run till April, 
and then go codfishing until July, and after the 4th of July go mackereling. In the beginning 
the practice was to catch the fish and heave them into the hold. The crew would clean them on 
the way in. As early as 1840 or 1842 there were one or two well smacks in the business, after- 
wards half a dozen. After icing was introduced some halibuters ran all summer. At first had- 
dock were always used for bait, thirty or forty of them being taken from home. Subsequently 
herring nets were carried, and there never was any trouble in getting an abundance of herring in 
the winter on the Banks. 
RECOLLECTIONS OF Capt. W. H. OAKES.—Capt. W. H. Oakes, of Gloucester, Mass., first went 
halibut fishing in 1838. Halibut at that time were caught only on George’s Bank. In the words 
of Captain Oakes, “they were like sand on the beach, the more you catched the more there was.” 
He believes that at that time they were accustomed to strike the north side of the Bank at 75 
fathoms and “follow it up” till 30 fathoms were reached. 
