Cape Breton's Magazine

Good mackerel fishing • 25.000 pounds would be a small day. That's a man with two fish traps. Two fish traps for the first two weeks, if things go right' and you get the right kind of weather and' wind, you could easily land 100,000. I've had in three days 101,000 on Monday, 105,000 on Tuesday and 109,000 on Wednesday for a total of 315, 000 pounds for three days. The biggest catch of fish that ever was weighed in this harbour in mackerel • I can't go back to the days of haddock • I had it in 1974. 1 had 114,985 pounds • one day. In 1970, which was the crack year, I had a million and 35,000 pounds of fish for the month of June to the 15th of July. We had two traps in the water. We had two collecting boats • good service • but the two boats couldn't handle what we were taking out of the two traps. They could just look after one. The other trap below was loaded every morning and every evening with fish • and we just had to let her sit there most of the season. sponsible for this for me--is Dan Smith of Jersey Cove. Red Dan Smith. In my travel? ing and time he was one of the finest gen? tlemen I ever met. He fished years and years • all his life. And he came down here and he got me interested and he got me on the road. He stuck by me and told me everything possible that I know about it • and he was a hard man to fool on any? thing. He was an expert on twine, in put? ting nets together. In my first year, Dan came out with us, set the main anchor. He set that trap to show us the picture of it, back of Smokey. Then we got in trouble, through me, because I had her on the bot? tom and she hooked and tore and I had 10 days with Dan there with me, trying to get her back in the water. I couldn't even mend a mesh of twine. But he told me, "Fellow, if you're going to get into this racket, you've got to learn it." So I went at it and now I can just about do anything around twine. And I did every? thing on my own ever after. The one man who I have to thank, who is re- '; IHHIlK'3 ??* J I ' wt' JR'''''H L' 't' ''H'''''H V''l Red Dan Smith under sail-- note large anchors in the second boat; below, Red Dan and others hauling a trap; left, Red Dan and Mary. Red Dan Smith made rope from wood in issue Number One of CAPE BRETON'S MAGA? ZINE, and in Number Eleven he told about his false ar? rest for piracy during the rum-running days.