Billy Carl Tillett and 

 Steve Daniels take ad- 

 vantage of a day in port 

 to repair nets. 



Trawl fishing: It's around-the-clock work 



(Continued 



man on the radio had promised gusty winds for 

 that December afternoon, winds that can make life 

 on a 50 foot boat like the Mitzi Kay miserable and 

 treacherous. But in 30 years of fishing, Capt. 

 Charles had learned not to argue with the weather. 

 Sometime along the way he came to the conclusion 

 that all you can do about the weather is live with 

 it — especially if you're winter fishing. Waiting for 

 the weather to cooperate is just part of life for the 

 men who make a living fishing from December into 

 April. 



In a village like Wanchese, winter's coming is 

 signaled by more than a dip in temperature. Some- 

 time in November, the men whose boats plied 

 Pamlico Sound fishing for croaker, spot and shrimp 

 last summer and fall grab an extra sweatshirt and 

 get their boats ready to churn beyond the Outer 

 Banks into the Atlantic. 



For shrimpers, converting their vessels for 

 "trawl fishing," as flounder fishing is called, re- 

 quires replacing shrimping gear that reaches out 

 from the sides of the boat with rigging off the back, 

 or stern, of the boat. For those who "long net" — a 

 type of summer fishing that uses three skiffs and 

 as much as 2,000 yards of net — , the change to 

 winter fishing means putting the three skiffs in 

 mothballs and dusting off the boat used only for 

 winter trawling. The Mitzi Kay, a vessel that has 

 served several captains for almost half-century 

 now, is used only for winter fishing. 



When the weather does cooperate, North Caro- 

 lina's commercial fishermen can be found between 

 the "edge" of the continental shelf and the eastern 

 shores of the Outer Banks. 



Some believe trawling for flounder is the tough- 

 est kind of fishing. "The work itself isn't that 



from page 1 ) 



hard," said Hughes Tillet, Sea Grant advisory 

 agent who fished out of Wanchese for 30 years. 

 "It's the hours. They drag (nets) day and night. 

 When they leave Wanchese, they don't cut off their 

 motors until they get back," Tillett added, holding 

 a match to his pipe. "Many of them leave on Mon- 

 day and don't get in until Friday — and that's 

 working around the clock," he said. 



Steve Daniels, husky 21-year-old son of Capt. 

 Charles, knows well the hours trawl fishermen 

 work. Along with Robert Daniels, Steve and his 

 dad are up and down around the clock, hauling in 



"It's the hours. They drag night and day." 



the Mitzi Kay's nets about every two hours. After 

 the catch is on deck, the work of sorting out trash 

 fish and stashing the flounder and other market- 

 able fish in the ice hold begins. 



With breezes whipping off the wintry Atlantic, 

 work on the deck can be cold business. But accord- 

 ing to Tillett, "when it's cold, a man's not going 

 to be long getting them (the fish) in the hold." 



Back inside the cabin, heat from the engine 

 thaws frozen fingers and noses, until it's time to 

 start over again, hauling in the nets and sorting. 



On the dock in Wanchese, Capt. Charles was 

 taking it easy. His plans to fish that December day 

 had been changed — and he knew they would prob- 

 ably be changed many more times — by the weather. 

 But that's kind of a way of life for him. Already he 

 was looking forward to that evening's Christmas 

 play practice at the church. Tomorrow, he would 

 be up early again, ready to roll with whatever 

 punches old man weather decided to deliver. 



