Herring Choking in the Apostle Islands, November 2006

Wolverine II	Eleanor B	Herring Introduction

My second herring choking experience was with Captain Craig Hoopman and crew aboard the Eleanor B on November 16th and 25th, 2006. I first met Craig at the Bodin's dock in the summer off 2006 when he was bringing in large catches of whitefish from his trapnet operation. In addition, Craig is related to my good friend Corey Carlson.

Herring choking was taken to a different level aboard the Eleanor B as we fished one of the most productive areas for herring in Wisconsin waters (near Sand Island). The details of the method are generally the same as those outlined for the Wolverine II. However, I have included a little more detail here and linked some of the pictures to videos. To see a video just click on one of the pictures. All videos are of fairly low quality to save download time and server space.

Herring fishing with midwater or suspended (as compared to bottom) gillnets requires a great deal of rope or line. There is approximately 100 feet of line that extends from a floating flagged buoy at the surface down to a chain anchor and then approximately 10 feet of line from that chain anchor to a much heavier and double-hooked (for catching the bottom) anchor. The 10 feet of line between the chain anchor and the hook anchor serves as a sort of "shock absorber" for the hook anchor so that it is not being pulled from the bottom during heavy seas. This keeps the net from being moved from where it was set, or worst case, being lost. Another 600 feet of line extends from the hook anchor on the bottom to the suspended net near the surface at a relatively gradual angle (relative to the bottom). Another 40 feet of line attaches the net to a floating buoy at the surface. Similar buoys, with 40 feet of line, are attached at approximatley 50 foot intervals along the entire 800 foot net and serve to keep the net suspended 40 feet below the surface. Bottom set gillnets do not have the 600 feet of line from the anchor to the net or the 40 feet of line for all of the float buoys. The setup is depicted in the schematic below (not drawn to scale).

The first five or so minutes of lifting a suspended gillnet is spent simply "reeling" in the 100 feet of line to the anchor and the 600 feet of line back to the net. This does not require a great deal of work on behalf of the crew but the line must be carefully stowed in boxes so as not to be a tangled mess in the boat and so that it can be easily reset. The pictures below (there is no attached video) show the heavy anchor, the net lifter, and a box of rope.

Once the net, anchor, and initial set of lines have been lifted the net is lifted with fish. The net is pulled in with the aid of the net lifter and the net is spread out across a "picking" table where three to six deck hands are prepared to "pick" fish. On the Eleanor B the picking table is stainless steel, approximately 15 feet long, and 4 feet wide near the lifter and 3 feet wide at the opposite end. Because of the generally heavy seas near Sand Island in November the net is lifted continuously without pause. The crew picks fish from the net while it is being lifted but, because of the number of fish in each net, they spend as much time organizing the net on the table as it is being lifted as picking fish.

video, 6:02, 18.8 mb

Once the net, end line, end anchor, and end buoy are in the boat the entire crew picks fish from the net. The mass of fish and netting on the table requires the net to be "unrolled" to gain easy access to many fish. Smaller fish are squeezed through the net while larger fish are backed out of the net. Extracted fish are tossed into fish boxes that are placed against the wall of the boat behind the crew (the wall behind the boxes serves as a back board for the tossed fish). The last man on the assembly line carefully removes tangles in the net and places the net and buoys in a net box so that it can be easily reset.

video, 6:40, 20.8 mb

If the catch is good then the net will be immediately set back into the water. Setting the net begins by tossing the marker buoy, the chain anchor, the hook anchor, and then feeding out the line that connects the hook anchor to the net. When the net is reached the first float buoy is set and then the net is played out. The captain holds the net tight as it is being pulled from the box by the movement of the boat, which is also being controlled by the captain. Another crew member holds the float line of the net to assure that it spreads upon entry into the lake and attempts to untangle any parts of the net that are twisted. Once all of the net is out, the hook anchor is dropped, followed by the chain anchor. The following line is held taut for a few seconds to stretch the net and engage the anchor with the bottom. Finally the final marker buoy is tossed.

video, 4:21, 13.5 mb

Once all nets have been lifted and reset the boat is headed back to port and the crew begins dressing the fish. On the Eleanor B dressing includes de-heading the fish and removing the entrails. Eggs are then separated from the entrails. The crew is extremely efficient at dressing herring with nearly 5000 lbs of herring dressed in 2.5 hours!!

video, 1:46, 5.6 mb

Back at the dock the fish are weighed into 100 lb boxes and the eggs are placed in 35 lb containers. The dressed fish, at $0.47 per lb, are shipped to Stoller Fisheries in Spirit Lake, IA to be processed into gefilte fish. The eggs, at $3.00 per lb, are sent to the Dockside Fish Market in Grand Marais, MN to be processed into caviar. Here is an article about the herring market.

As a final note, the lake by Sand Island is beautiful and, in November, sometimes incredibly rough.

Wolverine II	Eleanor B	Herring Introduction