Herring Fishing Boat

Herring Fishing Boat. . This boat was recovered from the muddy bottom of the Cashie River in 2004. It is the type utilized by commercial fishermen on our local sounds and rivers years ago., Robert (Bob) Smithwick was a farmer, owner of a country store at Sans Souci and during the herring run along with his sons, a commercial fisherman. Bob cut the cypress trees, had them milled inboards to his specifications and made boats like this., It was built to hold 6,000 herrings. On one occasion his son emptied 6,800 fish into the boat and almost sunk it. They loaded this boat up to eight times a day (48,000 herrings). The fish were trucked to Perry-Wynn Fish Company in Colerin which at the time was the largest fresh water fish processor in the world., Herrings sold for $.08 apiece at the beginning of the harvest but due to abundant supply (over fishing) the price sometimes dropped to a penny each. Sometimes due to oversupply they were used as fertilizer and hog feed., The boat is at least 30 years old and represents an era gone by. Many families were fed much of the year salted or pickled herring and smoked herring., Donated by Larry Taylor, xx/14/21 Robert Hoggard, Lewis’s father recognized this boat. Said he had fished with Bob Smithwick on it.