from a mate who knew his captain, Dunn said Tillett knew 

 exactly where he was going and exactly where those 51 fish 

 were. 



In pursuit of the day's catch, Tillett served as fish-finder 

 while Dunn reeled in the prizes. As Tillett turned the boat 

 away from bait-fishing grounds and toward the waters of 

 the bigger fish, Dunn didn't waste a moment of time. On the 

 ride out, he trimmed some of the flesh from the menhaden, 

 cutting the bait into 6-inch strips. Dunn explained, "They've 

 gotta wiggle in the water." 



About 10 miles out, Tillett descended from the bridge 

 once again, this time to ready his downriggers and rod 

 planers — fishermen's lingo for two types of rods and reels. 

 If they didn't use specific names for the equipment, he said, 

 it would be difficult to let other fishermen know which 

 method was working best. Throughout the trip, Tillett con- 

 tinually exchanged such information via his radio with other 

 fishermen on the water that day. "If I catch a fish on a 

 downrigger at 50 feet, they know what I'm talking about," 

 he said. 



Tillett explained the terms. A downrigger uses a shorter 

 line, usually 50 to 125 feet of cable, and is fished over the 

 stern of the boat. A rod planer uses about 300 feet of cable 

 and is fished from the side of the boat. A fisherman may 

 vary the length of the cables according to where he is 

 catching fish in the water column. 



"Some days we might start out with (a downrigger at) 50 

 feet and the other one 100 feet, and keep trying to figure it 

 out," said Tillett. This day, he got lucky. His first choice 

 worked, and the fish consistently went for the bait on the 

 downriggers set at 50 feet. 



Photo by Nancy Davis 



Dunn cleans the catch 



At the end of each cable was a stainless steel plate that 

 acted as a weight. A monofilament line, about 50 feet long, 

 was attached to each weight. At the end of the line, Tillett 

 attached a "sea witch" or colorful lure just ahead of the 

 hooks to give the bait some color in the water. "Sometimes 

 you'll start catching fish on a certain color, so you'll change 

 to more of that," he said. 



Finally, two hooks were positioned vertically, one behind 

 the other. "King mackerel always cut the bait in half. That 

 way they get hooked on the back hook. With only one hook, 

 they'd just get the bait," said Tillett. 



Tillett and Dunn used electric reels to pull in the catch. 

 "They give out from time to time," Tillett said. "When they 

 do, it can cut the catch in better than half." 



From the deck, Dunn watched for the slightest dip of a 

 pole, and from above, Tillett scanned the water for signs 

 that a fish had struck the bait. "When a fish hits the bait, it 

 automatically trips the weight and makes it come straight in 

 (to the surface). There's no friction at all. You can see the 

 line start coming up," said Tillett. 



Within minutes, Tillett motioned to Dunn, who immedi- 

 ately flicked the switch on one of the downriggers. Soon the 

 day's first king mackerel skimmed the water's surface 

 behind the boat. As the weight neared the top of the rod, 

 Dunn flicked the switch off. Then, hand over hand, he 

 pulled in the 50 feet of monofilament line. As a fish of about 

 10 pounds rose from the water, Dunn flipped it over the 

 stern of the boat into a box prepared for the catch. 



A metal rod, or de-hooker, across the top of the box 

 allowed Dunn to remove the hook without tangling with the 

 floundering fish's row of sharp teeth. 



Tillett let a novice in on some other secrets of the trade. 

 "If you catch two fish at a time, you start circling on that 

 spot. We also use Loran. When we hit the fish, we look at 

 those numbers and try to stay on that spot." 



Tillett also kept a watchful eye on a temperature gauge 

 on his boat. Temperatures averaged from 65 to 75 degrees. 

 King mackerel prefer 68- to 70-degree waters, he said. But 

 then again, you might catch them in 64- to 70-degree waters. 

 You just never know. 



A fathometer helped Tillett know how deep the water 

 was and what the bottom looked like. It also showed evi- 

 dence of small bait fish that the larger mackerel might feed 

 on. 



"A king mackerel moves with the wind and the currents," 

 said Tillett. "The wind and currents move the bait and the 

 mackerel usually move with the bait." Therefore, Tillett 

 kept the boat moving with the current rather than against it. 



By the end of the day, aside from several sharks and an 

 albacore, Tillett and Dunn reeled in more than enough to 

 pay for the day's work. At that time, king mackerel were 

 bringing about $1 per pound at the docks. Just two weeks 

 later, fishermen were catching 18- to 25-pound king mack- 

 erel, and the price had dropped to 80 cents per pound. 

 Tillett said, "The more you catch, the less you get for them." 



And the line between spending money and making 

 money is a fine one on the water. Tillett figured his boat 

 used about 90 gallons of diesel fuel at $1.25 per gallon. And 

 you have to add in costs of broken lines, torn bait nets and 

 wear and tear on the boat, he said. 



"Some days you work all day just to pay for the fuel," said 

 Dunn. 



— Nancy Davis 



