Tag Archives: fourth-generation
Four Generations at Hickey Brothers Fishery
When Hickey’s grandfather, Martin Hickey, sold land to build the town hall, he moved the Kilgore house, built in 1860, to a site across from The Ridges Sanctuary. The Hickey family still owns it. The Hickey family’s history of fishing in Baileys Harbor goes back to the mid-1800s. Martin Hickey Sr. began fishing hooks for lake trout using a 20-foot, wooden, flat-bottomed boat. He later purchased a Burger-built, gill-net boat named the Pathfinder. His son, William, continued in the business, and William’s sons, Dennis and Jeffrey, are the third generation of fishers in Baileys Harbor. They began working with Winegar, fishing alewives during the 1960s after duty in the U.S. Navy. Dennis’ daughter and son-in-law, Carin and Todd Stuth, joined the business after graduating from college in 2000. Photos, >click to read< 15:23
Inland Fisheries: Meet the Last Commercial Fisherman of Washington Island
My dad asked me one day if I wanted to go fishing. I thought he meant sport fishing, so I headed for the fishing pole. He says, ‘No, not that kind, commercial fishing,’” Ken Koyen says of his start as a fourth-generation fisherman. “I said, ‘Commercial? Can I do it?’ He says, ‘Hold out your hands.’ So I held them out. He says, ‘They’re big enough!’ And that’s exactly how I got started.” That was when he was 17. Now, about to turn 70, Koyen is the last of his kind on Door County’s Washington Island. Most mornings, Koyen wakes up around 6 a.m. and makes his way to his fishing tug, the Sea Diver, docked in Jackson Harbor by 8 a.m. The 48-by-13-foot tug, built in 1950, is his daily companion. Though he fishes solo, he says he never feels alone because he senses the presence of his father with him. >click to read< 13:12
Newport’s Dory Fleet hopes hopes to survive the massive oil spill
The Dory Fleet is an iconic beachfront business, starting in 1891 when a fisherman started marketing to the public on the beach. These days, four families sell fish as a co-op set right on the sand. As a fourth-generation Dory Fleet fisherman operating there since 1902, Scott Breneman and his family have endured challenging times, even surviving the Great Depression. It’s a business that, like the ocean, has an ebb and flow, facing challenges like ever-changing fishing regulations, shellfish bacteria that can restrict crab and lobster catch, sewage spills and more. “A bunch of stuff out of our control,” he said. “I would be out on the boat fishing right now,” he said. “I can’t get out of the harbor.” >click to read< 19:24
A Day in the Life: Fourth Generation Puget Sound Crabber Whatcom Fisherman Kaegan Gudmundson
Kaegan Gudmundson knows he will soon depart Blaine Harbor on his small commercial crabbing boat Njordor, named after the Norse God. His vessel, at 25 feet, is one of the smaller boats in the fishery. He often operates a one-man crew and never has more than one other person crabbing with him. His boat is built for speed over size, allowing him to quickly travel between his pot locations. Gudmundson’s days start at 4:30 a.m. with coffee and breakfast before heading to the harbor. >click to read< 10:30
Conceived in a boat, born on the river: Mullet fishing is in Lonnie Head’s blood
At 79 and a fourth-generation Old Homosassa fisherman, Lonnie Head knows the waters of the canals and rivers and the gulf by heart. Still strong as an ox, he still goes out mullet fishing a few times a week in a boat he built himself, pulling in his nets full of fish like they’re weightless. Before the net ban in 1994 took away much of his and other commercial fishermen’s livelihood, Head fished nearly every day. “Fishing was all there was to do,” he said. “All Homosassa was was a fishing village … I started fishing with my daddy when I was 7 years old or younger. >click to read<09:01
