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Jiggers
2003
Winterton Boat Building and Community Museum, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

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Jiggers, hooks set into lead shaped like a small fish, were also used on single lines. Used without bait, they were pulled up and down to tempt the squid or cod to take the hook. Sometimes the hook would catch into the body of the cod. The dabber (similar to a jigger but usually lighter in weight with a single hook set into lead) could be used like a jigger, or could be used with bait.

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Fishing trawl and tub
2003
Winterton Boat Building and Community Museum, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

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Another method of fishing, which yielded a greater catch, was trawling. The trawl was a long line that had attached to it many short lines with hooks at their ends. Each hook would be baited as a section of the trawl was put into the water. The trawl was stored and transported in a large wooden tub.

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Baiting the trawl (left to right): Eliol Hiscock, Reg Rose and Roland Hiscock
1960
Winterton, Newfoundland, Canada

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The process of putting the trawl line into the water is referred to as setting the trawl. It was important to ensure the trawl was set at bottom (or close to the bottom) in the best location on the fishing ground. This was usually around a ridge or shoal of rocks where the fish congregated. Trawls set close to the shore were shorter in length and were sometimes moored in place for several weeks while codfish were in the area. The catch would be removed and the hooks re-baited daily.

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Caplin seine
2003
Winterton Boat Building and Community Museum, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

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Nets were also used for certain types of fishing. The caplin seine was used to catch caplin for bait. One haul each evening would provide all the fishermen with bait for the next day.

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Cod trap model made by Alfred Green of Winterton
2003
Winterton Boat Building and Community Museum, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

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The cod trap was introduced at the beginning of the twentieth century. The leader section, a straight net, was attached to the shoreline and led into the main section of the trap. Fish swimming along the shoreline toward the net would be rerouted to follow the leader into the box-shaped section of the cod trap. Once inside the box section, fish swam around the sides and could not easily escape.

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A trap skiff with codfish just loaded aboard from the cod trap.
1940
Winterton, Newfoundland

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Cod traps were hauled (gathered together) using trap skiffs, also called motorboats when engines were installed. Punts, which were towed behind the skiff, were used to hold up the heads (top) of the trap when the fish were being taken into the boat using a dip net. The punts were also used for bringing home additional fish when the skiff was full.

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Hauling the cod trap
1960
Winterton, Newfoundland, Canada

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In the early years, the best cod trap berths (locations along the shore where traps were set) went to the crews that were first to get their traps into the water for the season. In order to get the best berths traps were often set very early in the spring while ice was still in the bay. This practice sometimes led to the damage or loss of traps and moorings because of ice floes. To avoid such losses the community eventually decided to allocate berths based on a random draw system. Some fishing crews owned two traps so the community would draw up two lists, one for prime berths, considered to be the best fishing locations, and one for the locations that were not as productive. The fishermen would then randomly draw one location out of a hat for their prime berth. If they owned a second trap, another location would be drawn from the secondary hat.