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Showing posts with label handline. Show all posts
Showing posts with label handline. Show all posts

Monday 24 September 2018

George Payne - a truly nice guy, from one who sailed with him.

Here's a short anecdote about George Payne, King of the Smocks related by Colin from the Mousehole Fish company who used to fish with George back in the early 80s.

Boy Gary and other 'toshers' fishing for mackerel inside the Longships lighthouse

Back in those days in the depths of winter, well over 100 'toshers' as they were known fished from Newlyn. Some from as far afield as Milford Haven in Wales or Weymouth in Dorset, they would muster 
on the quay around 6 AM for the winter mackerel season and, on a good day, be back in port with 100st (600kg) a man of big mackerel on board.


When winter mackerel fishing gurdys (in the foreground) were used to wind the line back and forth fitted with a set of 24 'feathers' (hooks covered with coloured plastic) and a seven pound lead weight.

At that time, Colin and George crewed aboard the Silver Spray skippered by Mack Thomas - a tosher that, like many from Falmouth, Looe and Fowey that came down to Newlyn, took anglers and trippers out during the summer months and then fished, mainly for mackerel, during the short, dark and often windy winter days. Colin, barely turned 18, a newbie and just getting his first taste of the harsh environment (having decided not to go to university) that was about to go from a short-term means of earning a wage into a 20 year career at sea, fishing. In those days, getting a berth on a fishing boat involved a short walk down the quay and catching the ear of a skipper at an opportune moment - the recruitment process was thorough and lasted as about long as it took to say, "Got a berth skipper?" with a response in the affirmative.



Small boats like toshers still used paper echo sounders in the 70s & early 80s.

On this particular morning nobody seemed to be catching mackerel so skipper Mac was steaming around off Lamorna looking for 'marks' - those tell-tale black marks on the paper echo sounder that told him there were fish about and at what depth. Suddenly, Mack raced out of the wheelhouse shouting to Colin and George to get their lines in the water quick as possible but down hard on the bottom - he'd passed over some pinnacles of hard ground with fish marks all over them - a sure sign of big pollack at this time of year. Colin was the first to get his seven pound lead and twenty feather trace down and  shout excitedly as he felt his line go tight that he had a 'stringful'. 

Unfortunately, rather than a stringful of big pollack pulling hard on his hooks Colin had hitched the rough bottom and within seconds promptly lost the lot - lead weight, feathers and all!  An already grumpy Mack (and anyone who has spent any time at sea knows only too well what a grumpy skipper is like first thing) goes off on one, first effin and blinding at Colin for being so effin useless and then kicking at everything on his way across the deck back to the wheelhouse to find another set of hooks and weight. 

Colin is mortified - feeling really uncomfortable at getting his first taste of life at sea in a world of harsh conditions and an even harsher skipper. Fearful for his welfare, he stares abjectly at his gurdy sans feathers and weight, wondering what the skipper might do next if something goes amiss.

While he's contemplating worst case scenarios he becomes aware that George, who hasn't said a word, quietly has made his way for'ard to Mack's gurdy.  Colin notices George draw heavily on the ever-present roll-up between his lips which he removes quickly as he picks up Mac's set of feathers and passes the glowing roll-up tip over the nylon backing line before heading back to his own gurdy; and not a word is said.

A few minutes later, lines dropped back in the water the guys are furiously fishing again.  Then, with the usual deck banter flowing, after all hands had touched on a few good hauls of big pollack there is a sudden hush from Mac's side of the boat as within seconds of hitting his latest pollack haul his line has parted. And not a word is said.




Monday 15 June 2015

Monday morning and Newlyn wakes to see most a the fleet at sea, inshore fish on the market, and a visit from an old friend.


Early morning flypast...


over the still waters of the Bay...


while surprise number two was the fact that the keel was still firmly sat on the bottom at high water......



on the market this morning most of the fish was from the inshore trawler fleet apart for the big beam trawler Billy Rowney with a good shot of ray...


and the netter Britannia V and her haul of monk, turbot and ray...


and a a few boxes of hake to boost thew boy's earnings...


no doubt with only a handful of quality bass on the market from Cap'n Cod they will make top dollar this morning...


the beam trawlers always pick up a few bags of scallops in their travels...


unusually, the inshore trawlers seem to be catching more Cornish megrim soles these days, though this may be due to the fine weather allowing them to work that much further off in better trawling grounds...


all set for the scales, one more turbot...


gets logged in the book from the Myghal...



with five dredges a side......


the Neptune is more typical dredgers found working in the south west...


than the UK's largest scallop trawler which landed at four am this morning with a surprise on board...


young Will Gillespie (ex-Filadelfia) has the honour of skippering this giant of the scallop world...


as he surveys his domain from the huge wheelhouse...


the boat sports two sets of conveyors - which take the scallops and fish below decks to be picked out, sorted and stored in the fishroom - which also has a freezing capability - within minutes of the gear being hauled...


the gear needs constant attention...


from the crew in order to maximise catch rates...


as the boat moves around the coast of the UK in search of the right kind of grounds for scalloping...


greasing the running gear is hugely important as the boat hauls around 25-27 times a day, towing at the most for one hour at a time...


with a side of gear weighing every shackle, splice and link are checked on a regular basis...


film work continues for the ITV series currently being shot in Newlyn with some of the first summer mackerel being caught on camera by none other than Barry who featured on the cover of Salt of the Earth...



which captured in glorious black and white photographs the fishing community who make their living going out Through the Gaps every day...


Barry gets a chance to see himself in action as the mackerel came in over the rail...


and being a fisherman means he is always  keen to spot a better way if doing things...


then it's time to lend a hand getting the film gear ashore...


before he gives up objecting to being manhandled and allows himself to be mic'd up...


ready for the cameras to roll...


and the next piece of, 'a day in the life of Barry Ede' is captured on film...


while his fellow handliners wash down their boats and head back to sea.