Quote:
Originally Posted by johnny ducketts
stupid question but, what constituted a large bass and what constituted a small bass, was it weight?, length, both?
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As I recall, back in the days of the 16" limit, the breakdown was, smalls under 5 lbs, mediums 5-15 pounds, large over 15 pounds. Everything was weight back then--no one measured or sold fish by the inch
My dad worked at Macos in Buzzards Bay, and the owner, Al DeSouza, had a firetrap of an inboard that he used to take into Barnstable Harbor, and many times my dad went with him. They floated sea worms and loaded up on schoolies, and back in the 60s you got about a quarter a pound for them from Byron's.
Once they went to the 24" limit there was no cull for smalls--it was just mediums and large. Which is not to say that some shops wouldn't buy short fish.
In the 80s the price varied between $1.50 to $3.25 a pound. I don't think I ever got more than $3.25. The price also varied from market to market. Some shops gave you a consignment slip and you waited a week or so until the catch was sold until you got your check. Cataumet Fish and Roy Besse's did it this way, and you got a better price. The downside was that you had to wait a week or so for your money, and you also got a traceable check for the tax people if you ever got audited. Most of us didn't sell enough to worry about taxes, though. If you wanted cash, on the spot, you went to Capt. Harris and took about a buck a pound beating over what you could get in other markets--but you walked out with untraceable folding green. Bob's Sea Grill--which became Penner's Place later on--was another place that would occasionally buy small catches for cash. Fresh bass would be his menu special the following night. I sold him 55 pounds one night, and the next night my sister took me to eat there for my birthday, and pointed out the dinner special--I told her that there was no way I was going to buy my own fish back
Cataumet Fish would also take gutted bluefish off our hands--the price varied between 15 cents to half a buck a pound, and considering that we were often up to our asses in bluefish in the 80s, that made for a nice steady source of beer money.
Oh--in all the years I did this--not once did any market ask to see a commercial license or any other piece of paper.