Cape Breton's Magazine

try there. I might start at the outer edge of this ridge and then move them in the next day till we get to the inner edge pf it. Then perhaps we have to skip quite a piece to get in on this other one that perhaps we have left it 3 or 4 days before. Fish there and then perhaps we'll move back to the other one again. That's the way we do it. But this summer you couldn't do much of that so far (it's early June, 3 weeks into the season), couldn't see your marks on shore. Early in the season, I fish further out. After two weeks, when these traps have soaked the water, they'll take a lot more punishment than when they're dry. The lathes will break easily when they're dry. But from now on they're after soaking the water and they'll stand twice as much. If you set them inside, they roll a lot more than they do in deep water anyhow • you have to have heavier traps to fish inside, even after they soak the water. In other words, a light trap even with fine weather won't fish inside. They've got to be right still before a lobster will go in. Even if there's a little roll, if it's a light trap working around on the bottom, it won't fish. So early in the season I keep the traps outside for the traps to soak so that they'll stand something. Now we're after moving in quite a bit. And once we move in we've got to watch the weather forecast every day. If a storm were coming tomorrow, we'd move back out again. If we're way in and we have a bad forecast we take 20 or 24 traps at a time aboard the boat. They're always safer further out. The east wind is the only thing that hurts traps here. Sometimes southeast. But northeast is good for lobsters and never smashes gear here at all. Here, each man fishes off his own land. But I don't really think that's what helps the lobster stock. What helped the lobster stock was when we started shipping lob? sters to Boston. Most of all the spawn lobsters, the berried lobsters • they're in the market size. Well, if you shipped a crate to Boston and there was a berried lobster or two • the crate was dumped. Just dumped, and you got nothing for it. There were state inspectors there. Everybody was scared of sending spawn lobsters. And they were sending shorts • ones that weren't long enough for the market • they were thrown back in the water and you got noth? ing for them. So that's really what helped the fishermen. One good thing about fishing off your own. If the traps were all mixed up here, we'd lose 3 or 4 times as many as we do. The fishing is always better inside. If every? thing was mixed up, the fisherman that was ambitious is going to be inside where most of the lobsters are. Then you'd get a lit? tle storm and you'd lose your gear. So now...this way, each man can save the in? side for later in the season. But the big reason it was started here is that they were hauling each other's traps so much. And growling, fighting • they just had to come to some sort of mutual agreement. So the Scotchman must be just as bad as any? one else. Now, if you're seen hauling traps at someone else's place, well, you haven't any of your own traps there. So you're in trouble, (it wasn't a conserva? tion measure?) No, no. (And people still respect it?) Oh, yes. (And years ago, if they came out and found someone else's traps on their grounds?) Oh, they used to cut the traps, destroy them. Sometimes they'd haul them up and set them back on * the grounds they belonged to. That's still done. And years ago they'd cut the traps BRIAND'S GAB Cape Breton TOVRS QaiMcC set the heauttfuk aioT TRAH. 664-6161 564-6162 Phone (902) 794-7251 Cabel. BRENNANS Telex 019-35149 Night & Holiday 736-8479 794-3178 Brennans Travel Agency 158 QUEEN STREET, NORTH SYDNEY STEAMSHIP • AIRLINE • RAIL AND HOTEL ACCOMODATIONS ihejrubstake "Your meal with us may just be the best you'll have on your vacation" (902) 733-2308 Dining Room • Cocktail Lounge Main St., Louisbourg, Cape Breton '' MARINE MUSEUM MAIN STJ'EET Atlantic'--, louisbourg ''''"'"' OPEN DAILY Recovered latK. Century Treasure Antique saltwater fishing gear Seafish coixEcrioN - Aquaria