Nice to see Family working together without all that garbage drama you see on those shows, like deadliest catch ,, sick of the sensless junk Keep up the awsome show you guys.
Wow, back again after 2 years for a re-viewing. It's a pleasure to watch all of you getting the job done, good days or stinkers. I've watched enough of your videos that I have some idea how hard you work, and what a wide range of talents you have besides fishing. Developing the skills, and the specialized tools to fabricate your own gear, fitted up as you want it and with the huge plus of knowing your finished fabrications are safe, effective and reliable! The special tools come slowly, a piece at a time (& when you can justify the expense), but they sure do pay off when things just _work!_ The way you have your deck layout organized, and the way you all work together is great to watch. I know it is hard physical work, and you have some very long days during the summer (as we do), but it seems as if you work at a pace that doesn't leave you constantly absolutely exhausted, more vulnerable to accidents, mistakes, or slow responses. Seems like you enjoy life more, and will live longer. Thank you for posting these, and keeping us updated on the Emerald Isle. You've made a lot of progress since you brought her home. I keep waiting for Matt to dream up a machine where he pushes in a pollock or herring at one end, and 3 or 4 chunks fall out the other end, of the tube, sized "just right" for baiting halibut hooks. You "acquired' the big bait grinder for crab season, but in my mind's eye I see another "torpedo tube" device where the semi-frozen fish gets cut into chunks, while fingers do not. Probably some commercial large-scale equipment supplier makes a machine that does this, but I'd love to see what the Matt and Dad team would brainstorm. Something quick to hook up, easy to use, stows neatly, but that stops instantly if necessary. I'm sure you have many projects already lined up, so I won't hold my breath in the meantime, lol! Best regards and many thanks from land-locked northern Alberta!
Hi from Australia, man l just love your videos, l have worked on a few lobster and deep sea trawler boats but watching fishing in Alaska is so cool, goodluck fishing.👍
Thanks for another very interesting video. Sitting in Northern Norway (Europe), I can see quite a few differences from the halibut fisheries we are doing here. The halibut looks the same, but ours (Atlantic Halibut) seems to be bigger in average. The minimum size here is 47 inches, and I guess the average size is more like in the range 50-55 inches. It is not unusual to get like 93 inches (approximately 100 kg / 220 lbs) halibuts, whereas the Norwegian record is 314 kg/ 692 lbs. Another difference is the vessels design (approximately the same vessel size or less) and the way we are setting and hauling the line. Always setting with the sea current and hauling against the sea current. Setting out the line at the rear of the boat, and hauling it on the starboard side, with the bow against the sea current. Normally, the branch lines are attached to the main line withe knots. It seems like we have more rough weather conditions than you, but the mountains are very similar. Keep up your good work!
Thanks Svein. Your fish are definitely larger there, our minimum size is 32". We get larger fish when we are shallow up in the rock piles, but 35-40 pound average would be big for a trip. Also the Bering Sea tends to have larger fish and 450 pound fish are not uncommon. Most vessels here do haul gear amidship on the starboard side. Stern hauling just works good for us, and we pull with the current when possible. It is very easy hauling like that often with little or no throttle and steering input for the set. We also set with the current or at an angle. Many of the larger vessels say over 50' use conventional gear in tubs or skate bottoms, where the gangion is tied to the mainline. We like snap-on gear because it baits fast, and no gearwork when you are done hauling. Also it keeps our deck nice and tidy. Both gear types work good though and convention gear is faster to set and haul than snap-on gear. And the weather...well we are pretty fair weather fishermen these days. We do get into some nasty stuff occasionally, but we try to avoid it. The area we are fishing has open water clear to the Washington coast and during a good storm will see seas build to 30 feet or more. I really enjoy reading your comments and would like to see your fishery. I love the lines the vessels up there, and you guys really work some rough water. Good fishing to you and be safe!
@@EISAlaska Hi again, guys Another quite big difference between our coastal fisheries and yours is the variety of fishing species and the associated gears you are using. I have seen you fishing with lines for halibut, jigging for rockfish, using pots for crab and purse seine for salmon. In Northern Norway the fishing fleet 35 feet and less get the majority of the yearly income from one single specie - the North East Atlantic Cod - also called “Skrei”. The season for it is January to April every year. The gears used are gillnet, longline, jigging machines and scottish seine. Most vessels are specialized on one specific gear, but some combine gears, for example gillnet and jigging machines, lines and jigging machines, jigging machines and pots. This year, the cod quota for a 35 feet boat is 39.4 metric tons (78000 lbs) round weight, which is 26.3 tons head off and gutted. Due to real bad weather in january, february and partly march this year, the fishing was difficult, but the prices went all time high. Approximately 3 USD per kilo (2 lbs) head off and gutted. In addition there are big quotas for haddock and saithe (atlantic pollock). The price in the market for these species s approximately ½ to ⅓ of the cod. Other important species are tusk, atlantic halibut, greenland halibut and King Crab (only in the north eastern region). In addition there are mackerel and herring, but the small coastal vessels normally do not utilize the pelagic species. Summa summarum: You combine more gears and fish on more species than we do.
Nice huge Halibut. I can my whole neighborhood with that fish..I 💘 Halibut. Last time I bought from the boat local fisherman from Washington. My wife and family went camping and I brought and barbecue the fish..everyone love it.
I worked the last halibut derby back in the 90's out of Homer, this is a lot more relaxed than the 1000 boat gold rush of those days. Out of dutch harbour we deck loaded and caught 1 400lb Halibut 3 of us 3 gaffs and one fish refusing to come aboard. Eventually we used the rock of the boat to get it aboard. I believe we were off Kodiak.
May god bless your family. Be glad your not down here in the states with all this crazy COVID stuff. You all are working hard with family in the most beautiful surroundings. Love the channel!
Blessings to you and your family Patty. Things are a mess down there and we hope things get better. Thank you for the kind words and support. Best wishes from us and be safe.
Love Your Fishing Show & The Fishing Trips! You Are All Always Great To See And That You Are All Abiding By Your Fishing Zone Laws! And Your Cach Sizes! Great Work! To All Of You & It Will Be Great To See All Of Your New Fishing Episodes Coming Soon! To You All Have A Great Day In Whatever You Are Doing Fishing + Working. Respect & My Best Regards: To You All Alfred J Kisi In NSW Australia. #Tight-Lines! & Great Luck Is Coming Your Way!
Whacking with clubs is counter productive, though the ending of a life is still the result, you won't miss and bruise up the flesh and you see when they cut through at the gills initially? That bleeds the fish so not only do you get nice white fillets, but blood starts to go bad very quickly so best remove it. If you kill them before you cut them, they don't bleed because their heart stops.We have a responsibility to treat all of our food animals with respect so there is no wastage. Good observation
They're not conscience, they have zero clue about pain or they're being caught for food. If the animals we eat had a consciousness, we would never catch them. We would never be able to hunt an animal or fish.. 😂
Wonder if some of that Halibut hits my favorite Fish and Chip place here in Eugene,Or. Newman's Fish Company. If you haven't tried it, head over there. Been around since 1890. Best Seafood in the PNW.
Guys they're starting to harvest dog fish off Massachusetts where I grew up.. by catch has put their numbers through the roof! They are actually great eating..
Thanks Joe. Industry has tried to get fish into those markets years ago. I think the biggest challenges had to do with dealing with the urea they excrete and skinning them. I'm sure lots has changed since then and it may be worthwhile to take another look at processing them here. They can get really bad in the fall and will run halibut and everything else out of an area practically overnight.
Just curious but why are the halibut stored belly up? Even when you're de-hooking them, you guys go out of your way to lay the fish whiteside up. From a former swordfish longliner, I appreciate what you're doing! Really enjoy your vids!
Hi Michael. We store them belly up so blood doesn't pool on the white side (although proper bleeding generally prevents this). This gives fish shipped H&G a better presentation. Also we clean them whiteside up, so it makes it easier to lay them that way from the beginning.
Thanks for another great video. I know it must be boring for y'all, but it looks rather fun an enjoyable to me.... as I sit here on my couch never have been on a working boat.
Glad you enjoy it Joel! It can get boring at times, but we keep ourselves entertained laughing at the gulls fighting over scraps, and enjoying the beauty of our workplace. Sometimes you pull up a cool rock or some old gear or a big fish pops up when you're not paying attention.
Nice fishing we did our season a few weeks back and ours is only 12hrs long and we are only allowed 100 hooks we only caught 7 or 8 but our biggest one was 78 inches i think and it weight 170lbs we are on the east coat of Canada
That drum would have saved my back! I coiled so many skates of line.... it's a beautiful thing. I fished out of Prince Rupert in the '70s, so I am kinda old to do it now.
I started out fishing on a 75' longline vessel. We carried 350 tubs (1/3 skate) of gear. It's really nice not having to move tubs around. Best of all, when we are done pulling the set the gearwork is finished!
That was a nice catch guy's and that One Dang, pretty big. Great video and enjoyed it as always. Hope you guy's can keep your heads above water (Pardon the Pun) with your business and Stay Safe out there. until next time !
Thanks Stubby. We are in good shape for now, but we are looking at long term impacts and trying to mitigate our loss. I know the same applies for a very great percentage of the American and world population right now. All the best to you and your family. Stay safe!
@@EISAlaska I just discovered your channel and have watched almost all your content, fantastic, we are big fans in Massachusetts, keep up the great work
This was Super cool and informative to watch. Couple of questions if you don't mind entertaining them. 1. When fishing for Halibut, do ever want to keep one or some for yourselves? 1a. Is keeping some for captain and crew even allowed? 2. Seeing those magnificent octopus, what is the market value for them? 2a. Being an octopus loving mess(to eat), would you consider a catch / clean & cook mini video of Halibut and Octopus? 3. What do you all like to do when you're not Fishing / Crabbing, basically on your off time not on the boat? 4. Has this Covid-19 virus situation affected the fishing market from your POV? After all said and done. Awesome Channel. Be Safe & I appreciate you still being out there grinding to bring us quality products from the sea. God Bless and Be Well.
Thanks Jurassic! Glad you enjoyed it. So let's see.. 1. Surprisingly, we rarely eat halibut. It is delicious and we love it, but easier (in terms of retaining legally) to keep some rockfish or cod which we also love to eat. 1a. We are allowed to retain halibut, but with a cost. The amount you keep for personal use while commercial fishing is deducted from your fishable pounds or quota for the year so that is poundage that you can't sell. So it's kinda like buying the fish from yourself. We can fish for halibut under a subsistence permit and there is no cost for that. 2. Mostly bait markets for octopus here. We are working to develop more local food markets for the ones we catch, but we do let a lot go free. They are really cool creatures and we kinda have a soft spot for them. LOL. 2a. We are working on doing some catch/ clean and cook videos. We will try to sprinkle a few in here and there with different species as we catch them. 3. We spend a fair amount of time direct marketing our fish, shipping to wholesale/ retail markets and also direct to the consumer. Paper work seems to be never ending. Boat projects, upgrades, maintenance. The rest of the time just spending it together as a family. Working around the house, gardening, hiking and enjoying the outdoors and life. 4. Absolutely. This is devastating the commercial fishing industry across America. Small boat, family fishing operations in particular. We have seen a huge drop in ex-vessels prices as buyers are uncertain of the future and are paying less for product or just not buying. We have concern about our local processor continuing to process our catch, and are trying to get our own facility online (add to the #3). Shipping is being impacted locally with the bankruptcy of one of Alaska's air carriers and the closure of our freight terminal in Kodiak (hopefully temporary). So I think we are really just another entry on a very long list of industries, small businesses and individuals impacted by this. If there was ever a time to try to support your small businesses throughout America this is it. We will make it through this as a nation and a world, it will just take time. Thanks for the questions and be safe and healthy!
Hi Umsum. My name is Len, and I'm the captain. We also use saury for bait in our crab fisheries, and I know a few guys use it to longline for cod. What is your nationality? I checked out your channel and wish I could speak and read your language. Beautiful work. Great job!
Thanks Karl. The amount of time before they are cleaned is pretty minimal and won't affect the quality. Also it was a cool day (this was shot in late October) and although it looks sunny and hot the temps were in the low 50's. After we clean the halibut they get submerged in slush ice and they get chilled rapidly.
If you split the octo between the eyes the two lobes of its brain will pop out ....which you can then servere from it's central nervous system. It takes a split second and the octo won't be making anymore decisions. It stops them from crawling around and you won't have to peel them from the hatchcovers. :)
Habit from the derby days, it was to present better at fresh markets, kept the white side more clear of blood spots. For us it works to do the same since we measure and clean them on that side.