300 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 
Capt. James Turner, of Isle au Haut, Maine, who assures us that as late as 1815 the fishermen 
drailed for mackerel, gives the following account of this method of fishing: 
“While drailing, the sails were trimmed in such a manner that, when the helm was partly 
down, the vessel would ‘jog’ along slowly, making a little leeward drift, so that the lines would 
trend off at a slight angle from the weather side. Each man had one line, the end of which was 
attached to the end of a pole that was fastened to the vessel’s rail, projecting out about 8 feet at 
right angles with the side of the vessel. The fisherman held in his hand a hauling-line, which was 
attached to the middle of the one fastened to the pole, so that he might know when a fish took the 
hook and be able to haul it in. 
“About a pound of sheet Jead was wound around the line, a foot above the hook. When the 
vessel was engaged in fishing, the man standing forward threw over a small amount of fine bait 
(which had previously been chopped with hatchets) occasionally, scattering it along in order to 
attract tne fish and keep them near the vessel.” ; 
The following paragraphs are quoted from an essay in the Fishermen’s Memorial and Record 
Book: 
“Trailing was one of the means used to catch mackerel in the olden time, and one of our old 
fishermen informs us that when a lad he distinctly remembers of being out in Boston Bay one day in 
a boat with his father, when he saw a vessel which looked very strangely to his young eyes, and, 
boy-like, he asked his father what sort of craft it was. 
“<«That’s a trailer, my boy, and we’ll speak with him,’ was the reply. 
“They sailed quite near, and they observed that the vessel had outriggers of long poles on 
each side, commencing forward at about seventeen feet and tapering off to five feet aft. At the 
ends lines were fastened, about twenty fathoms long, with a sinker of four pounds, and hook below. 
To each of these lines was attached a bridle, reaching to the side of the vessel, where the fisher- 
men stood to feel the bites. This particular vessel was from Hingham, and had been out four 
weeks without receiving even a bite, aud the skipper said he was going to give it up and go home. 
“The present mode of catching mackerel by drifting and tolling with bait did not come into 
general use until after 1812. The gear for catching previous to that was a white hempen bob-line, 
as it was called, and the style of fishing was termed ‘bobbing’ mackerel. These lines were some 
seven fathoms in length, with a leaden sinker two inches long, and shaped like a thin pea-pod. 
At one eud was a ganging about a foot long for the hook. Every few minutes off would go the 
hook, and extra hooks were always in readiness to replace those lost. This mode continued until 
the year 1816, when Abraham Lurvey, of Pigeon Cove, discovered a method of running lead around 
the hooks, and which were afterward called jigs. This he kept secret for many months. The hooks 
then in use were nearly as large as the haddock hooks of to-day. The small lines and fly-lines did 
not come into use until about 1823. About this time the gaff was introduced, and was abandoned 
after being used some ten years.” * 
It seems scarcely necessary to discuss more in detail the methods used during the first two 
centuries of the mackerel fishery of North America. In the Report of the U. S. Fish Commission 
for 1881 there is, given a chronological history of the mackerel fishery from its inception to the 
present time. 
*The mackerel gaff was used to some extent, by the hook and line fishermen, as late as 1865, and possibly even 
since that time, 
