Fishing Grounds of the Gulf of Maine | Page 7

Near the center is a rock, uncovered at low water,
but over the greater part of the shoal there are depths of from 6 to 10
fathoms, with an average of from 12 to 16 fathoms over the sandy and
stony ground about it. There is a strong tide rip here on the eastern and
northeastern part known as Flood Tide Eddy, where is good fishing by
hand line for pollock in September and October. Cod and haddock are
taken here in small amounts by trawling. It is a herring ground also,
and there is a lobster ground on the shoal and all about it.
A cod ground extends offshore SW from Briers Island, beginning about
5 miles out from the island and extending to about 18 miles from the
land. Its width is about 4 miles. Depths over this area are from 40 to 60
fathoms over a hard, shelly bottom. Cod are taken here in from 30 to 44
fathoms on the shoal ground running from 5 miles from Gull Rock and
the South-West Ledges down to the Lurcher Shoal, a distance of about
22 miles. Between these points fishing is done mostly by hand-lining
"at a drift." Cod are taken over the ledges in 5 fathoms of water and
thence out to 60 fathoms about them from August to November.
Pollock are taken by the same method. The best season is August.
September, and October. This is a good lobster ground.

Northwest Ledge. Lies about 3 3/4 miles northwesterly from Briers
Island. This is a piece of rocky bottom about 2 miles long by something
less than 1 mile wide with depths of from 2 to 10 fathoms over the
ledge and soundings of 12 to 30 fathoms on the gravelly ground about
it. Cod are found here in good number from September to November,
inclusive, and are taken by hand-lining. Pollock also are taken here in
summer, "drailing" by hand line.
A narrow piece of rocky ground with somewhat greater depths
connects this with Batsons Shoal, some 5 miles SW., the two thus
making what is virtually one piece of ground. Depths on Batsons Shoal
are rather less than on Northwest Ledge, but the methods of fishing, the
species taken, and the seasons of their abundance are the same on both.
The bottom all about these two grounds is rocky, with from 20 to 40
fathoms inside of them, but this deepens rapidly to 100 fathoms over
rocks and coarse gravel outside of them to W. and NW.
West-Northwest Rips and the Flat Ground. These lie WNW from
Briers Island, extending offshore about 18 miles. On the eastern end of
this area, two parallel shoals, about 1½ miles across and having
50-fathom depths between them, rise from the 100-fathom depths of
water over the muddy ground around them to reach 15 fathoms on the
landward end of the rips, deepening to 35 fathoms off the western part,
where the two ridges come together at about 9 miles distance from
Briers Island, to carry on to the westward over the Flat Ground, which
extends to a distance of about 18 miles from the island.
This Flat Ground, deepening gradually westward, averages to have 50
fathoms of water over a level, gravelly, and rocky bottom, to pitch
down suddenly, as do all other slopes of this piece of ground, to the
100-fathom depth, which prevails on all sides of The Rips. Currents are
very strong here, as elsewhere in these waters, so that trawls are set
only on the slack of the tides, beginning about one hour before and
remaining down until about one hour after these periods. Formerly this
was a good ground for the taking of large herring. In these days The
Rips furnish good cod and haddock fishing for the entire year, with
hake abundant at all times on the mud about them. In fact; virtually all
the ground from this point south to the Lurcher Shoal furnishes good
fishing for these species.
Boars Head Ground (also called Inner Ground). This parallels the coast

about 4 miles N. by NW from the Head, at Petit Passage, into St. Marys
Bay. This ground is about 4 miles long by 3 miles wide, having depths
from 55 to 65 fathoms over a hard bottom of broken ground. Cod are
most numerous here from April to July, inclusive; haddock from July to
September, inclusive. Hake are found here in summer and early fall,
principally on the muddy ground between this and the next fishing
ground--the Outer Ground.
Outer Ground. This is about 3 miles long by 2 miles wide, lies about 9
miles out from the main on the same bearing as the Inner Ground, and
is visited by the same species, their periods of abundance upon this
piece of