Though rod and reel are used to catch many fish, few local fishermen rely upon such methods and then only a rare few. This clip shows the basic, very effective use of a
large float attached to a 100 + yards of 200 lb test line and a single hook baited with a small tuna (between 1/2 to 3 pounds.)
The line is then set adrift, along with two to four others, and carefully observed for a strike. When a fish takes the bait, most often a yellow-fin tuna or marlin, the
process of carefully pulling the catch in, hand-over-hand, begins. This generally does not happen quickly... a process which can be very risky as all of the line is pulled into the boat, piling at the fisherman's feet.
Never wrapped around hands, the line is tightly grabbed as the pulling process unfolds. An
incredibly strong and fast fish, when the marlin makes a run in its struggle to escape hundreds of feet of line can be zipped
back out into the sea in an incredible instant.
Of all the fish caught on Dominica, from the very
small to the very large, 100% is used for food, some given away to friends & neighbors, the
rest sold locally to villagers, restaurants, stores and markets.
There is no waste; Dominican's are experts at preparing fish in incredibly tasty way and served at practically every
meal.
Marlin - Appox 220Lbs
Caribbean Sea - 27 miles west of Dominica -- May 2008
This set of images (right) include Hilsford Vidal, Tony Roudette, my son Alden, me and several of the
Batalie Beach fishermen.
In some of these photos there is a pile of yellow rope along with a couple of blue tarps piled on Dominica's west coast's Batalie Beach located near Salisbury. Tony and some of the guys are building a "Fish
Attraction Device" or FAD. The FAD is constructed from a "mile or more" of rope consisting of 8 strands of yellow plastic bailing twine spliced together; the tarps are tied near the top (surface) end while, at the bottom end, 2
strategically placed lengths of pipe and a tire are secured within a half-barrel full of concrete make up the bottom end... the anchor part, of the FAD.
When finished, this particular FAD was loaded on to the boat and transported 6 miles out to sea. Once at the drop location, large floats are attached to the surface end of the rope several feet above the tarps, after
which the chore of letting the rope out begins... ending with the anchor being shoved over-board. You'll see photos of the anchor being given the heave ho and the rope following. This FAD was placed in water about a half-mile deep -- the
fishermen take in consideration the depth and current and the associated angle needed for the floats to remain on the surface... too short of rope and the FAD is gone forever, the buoys & tarp dragged far beneath water making the attraction device
impossible to locate
The FAD works by providing cover for small fish in the tarp area... bigger fish are attracted to the smaller fish... yet bigger fish are attracted to those fish, etc... the end result being really big fish, tuna,
marlin, and such, find their way into the area to feed... the fishermen fish for the big fish.
If images are not showing, click the X in the top Right Corner.
Please ignore the links below.
There are also some images of Batalie Beach fishermen casting nets (about 200 yards in length), near shore, from their hand crafted boats... as with most all fish caught on Dominica, their catch will be sold for food or
bait . Once the net is hauled back on to the boat, they row to shore and sort the fish from the net. The fishermen seen in these images have boat huts situated on the beach. This is where they store their boats and related gear.
Similar scenes take place at dozens of locations along Dominica's shoreline each early morning. Besides netting fish, hundreds of fish pots (traps) are also set and tended each day.
My son, Alden, is seen in several photos catching barracuda under the watchful tutelage of Hilsford. This day was memorable, not only for the fishing but for the rain as, but for the few minutes when I snapped
these pictures, it rained buckets... and buckets and then a couple of tubs full. A warm, mesmerizing sheet of rain for a good while, we would have been drier had we just jumped in the sea -- I wonder if some of the fish we caught even knew they
had been pulled out of the water...
We also successfully fished at night several times, avoiding the stress of most everyday's overly intent sun, its heat and glare... taking advantage of the evening's calm, cool breeze, black-ink sky and a million close stars.
