Commercial Fishermen Hard At It

The commercial fishing seasons are in full swing. The gillneters, were the first to start their season. These guys are usually one man operations, although some skippers will bring a deck hand, usually a family member, wife, son, daughter. They operate their boats while setting and picking the fish from their nets. The boats are small, under 30 ft. The nets about one hundred feet long and about 12 ft. deep, they have a cork line on top and a lead line woven into the bottom. Most of the skippers operate the boat from the stern as they roll in the net. This can be very dangerous, especially when fishing in rough and inclement weather. Gillneters usually fish 4 days on and 3 days off. During their time off they spend it repairing the nets, cleaning the boat and gearing up for the next opening. This life of the gillneter for as long as his season last. I know a few of these guys and a lot of them spend most of the summer out on the grounds, they have their grub sent out by float plane and only come to town when their low on fuel. Till next time: K-townking