Our Maine Lobstermen

I was born and raised in Winter Harbor, Maine. I began lobstering when I was 10 years old. All my relatives are lobstermen, back 6 generations with two more coming after me: my sons and grandsons. My older brother, Douglas Torrey, taught me.
 
I have a "large clan" family: 4 brothers and sisters, 6 grown children, 13 grandkids, and 9 great-grandkids. My kids are all hard working, independent, and family is all-important. They work hard at fishing, hair-styling, tending a lobster pound, waitressing & taking care of old folks, dog grooming/kenneling/breeding (Yorkies), and managing a resort restaurant.
 
My boat name, the Agitator pretty much describes me. When I was bringing my new boat home from Canada years ago (before boat electronics & weather forecasts), I got caught in a So-West snowstorm for 24 hrs; it should have been a 7 hour run home. The Coast Guard and Larry Torrey were out looking for me.
 
I started the Co-op in 1971 and have been on the board all but 2 or 3 years. Been President 20 years or better and am the current President.
 
I enjoy lobstering because no one is telling you what to do, and I love trying to "out think" the lobster. It takes years to lean how the lobster moves: off shore to in shore, in shore to off shore. It's never the same. You have to know all the "bottom", all the places they travel, so you can "jump" around and find how they're moving that year.
 
When buying lobster, remember that they have to be handled very carefully: kept in cold saltwater until sold. Also, Winter Harbor fishermen have special permits to supply some egg-bearing female lobster to the Lobster Hatchery, and to reseed baby lobsters in our coves, in order to keep up the stocks. Otherwise, we "punch" the tails of egg-bearing females so they can never be taken, so they will breed.
 
Note: Due to Dale's knowledge of ocean and his undeniable Downeast accent he has had the priviledge of being featured in an Alka-Seltzer commercial in the 1980's. You may remember Dale talking about the wonders Alka-Seltzer did on his "Winter Harbor colds".
 
Memorable event on the water: Catching an 11 ½ lb blue lobster in June 2007.
 
Favorite music: Faith Hill, George Jones. Favorite songs are "He Stopped Lovin' Her Today" by George Jones and "Picture" by Kid Rock & Sheryl Crow
 
Favorite books: "The Shipping News" by E. Annie Proux and "Random Passage" by Bernice Morgan…both about Newfoundland (a favorite place I've visited 3 times)
 
Favorite TV: Old Westerns (especially Clint Eastwood)
 
Favorite Sport: Basketball

I grew up in Winter Harbor, ME and started lobstering when I was 8 years old. My father, uncle and grandfather were all lobstermen and I learned from them. My great grandfather fished lobster back in the day of sails. He used a sounding lead to get depth. My grandfather was a bay fisherman. He fished to supplement his income and was a full-time postman. He raised 10 children and lobstering was a must for him. My father fished lobster, herring, hauled bait, and worked as a mechanic. He raised 8 children and worked at least 2 jobs for most of his life.
 
I started fishing in 1947. I fished a few traps from then until 1957 while going to school. My family had to move to the city in 1958 where I graduated high school. I joined the Air Force in 1962, returned in 1966 and resumed fishing. I have been doing it from then until now.
 
I have two sons who both spent their 4 years in the Coast Guard and are now making their living fishing. I have 5 grandchildren, 2 boys and 3 girls. The youngest will graduate next year. I have one wife I have had for 47 years. She is meaner than a mountain lion and has the patience of Job.
 
I won my boat's hull in a drawing at the Winter Harbor Lobster Festival.
 
I helped start the Co-op as a charter member in 1971. I've also served on the Board of Directors quite a few years. Lobster fishing is not just my job, it is my life. It's a 24-7 commitment. I have fished year round for many years and it's a job where one never does get caught up. You can work all day and then come home and work some more, painting buoys or measuring rope or a hundred other things that people must do to be fishermen.
 
Memorable event on the water: A few years back, I had a couple get married on my boat. My fondest memories are fishing with my father at an early age. I enjoy the quiet of the early morning, the soaring of eagles over my boat, the splash of seals and the jumping porpoise as I go down the sound on a flat calm morning. For me, the challenge of lobstering is knowing the how, when and where to set your traps.
 
Favorite music: I like country music (the old type where I could understand the words) I liked Johnny Cash. I like the hymn "Let the Lower Lights Be Burning".
 
Favorite book/poem: I like to hear "The Wreck of the Hesperus".
 
Favorite TV: Westerns, John Wayne, Clint Eastwood. Also, Discovery Channel, Dangerous Game.
 
Favorite Sport: Baseball

I was born and raised in Winter Harbor. I started lobster fishing when I was 6 years old. My grandfather, father, and four uncles are all lobstermen.
 
I started fishing with my grandfather who was in his 70's and had an old mackerel seining boat into which someone had installed a "make and break" engine. To stop you had to open the switch and try to catch the motor coming up and snap the switch on again to get it to release, as it had no clutch or transmission. Sometimes it worked and sometimes we hit the back of the boat. That made her leak so bad we would have to put her on a mud bark and mud her to keep her afloat. Gramp called her the "White Heifer". He died when I turned 14 and was buried on my 14th birthday. I continued to lobster with my father and then on my own.
 
I am a founding member of the Co-op. I've been on the Board of Directors for 10 or so years and been President for 2 years.
 
Memorable event on the water: Seeing hundreds of whales at one time… or a thousand Pilot whales going onto Frenchman's Bay at a time. Took 2 or 3 hours to do it.
 
Favorite TV: Weather
 
Favorite Sport: Hunting

I grew up in Winter Harbor and began lobstering when I was 12 years old, in 1962. I learned about lobstering from my father, Allison Workman. My grandfather, Milton Torrey, was also a lobsterman. I have 3 children, 6 grandchildren, and have been married for 40 years. I joined the Co-op in 1974 and have served on the Board of Directors.
 
I bought the boat I have now in 1992 and named it Tough Times because money was tight then and the interest rate was 15%. It just seemed to fit.
 
Memorable event on the water: Back in 1982, Linwood Workman and I saw a killer whale pass our boat.
 
Favorite Music: Dan Seals and Neal McCoy. Favorite song is "Shake".
 
Favorite TV: Burn Notice, Royal Palms, The Mentalist
 
Favorite Sports: Golf, Trap Shooting, Sporting Clays

I grew up in Birch Harbor and began lobstering when I was 8 years old. My dad, grandfather, Regie, Jayson, and Todd all taught me to fish. I feel when you start young it becomes a natural decision to be a lobsterman– at least it was for me.
 
My boat is named Juggernaut, which according to the dictionary means "a large unstoppable force". I thought that was pretty cool and fitting for the boat.
 
I joined the Co-op in 2002. Lobstering is an honest way to make a living and I like being my own boss.
 
Back in high school, I really enjoyed fishing out of my 24 ft "Ol Mossy" up in the sound during my summer breaks. I like to fish. If I'm not lobstering chances ain't bad I've got a pole in my hand wettin' a line somewhere. I also spent a little time charter fishing in Key West, FL last winter and spring.
 
Memorable event on the water: One time I found a bull moose drifting dead while I was out tending my gear. I tied a line around his rack and hauled him up to the block but he was way too heavy to get up over the side of the boat, so we tied him onto one of my Dad's buoys, and he hauled him in through his stern tailgate. That was the best eatin' moose I've ever had!
 
Favorite TV: Tarpon of Boca, Deadliest Catch
 
Favorite Music:I'll listen to about anything but rap. Jamey Johnson "In Color" is probably my favorite song and I couldn't make it through a day without the music radio.

Pat is a third generation lobster fisherman. He's been lobster fishing since he was a young boy with his grandfather, Herman Faulkingham.
 
Pat has seen his two sons, Billy Bob and Herman Faulkingham follow in his footsteps and embark in careers in lobstering as well.
 
Pat's boat Gramps Bird is named after his granddaughter Robin Faulkingham.

Slugger has been tending lobster gear since he was nine years old. He has done everything on the water from Scallop dragging to Urchin diving, but his true passion is Lobster fishing.
 
His brother, Punk Bragdon, fishes alongside him during the shedder season. Last year, his son, Cyrus Bragdon, joined the Winter Harbor Co-op as our younger member.
 
Slugger's boat is named 250 Yards. He chose this name after his old boat sank while he was dragging for scallops. He was forced to swim 250 yards to shore during a frigid February day. It was out of shear luck, stamina, and will that he survived that day.

I grew up in Winter Harbor. I remember being on a boat at 3. When I was 15, I bought my first boat. I have many relatives who were and are lobstermen. I'm at least the 4th generation, maybe more. I was taught by Dad and Grampie. I have a beautiful 5 yr old angel Robin and beautiful fiance Carrie who are my whole life.
 
My boat name is my cousin Adam's basketball number. He died in a car accident when we were both 17.
 
I joined the Co-op in 2000. I like lobstering because I'm my own boss and it's a challenge to try to find 'em. It's hard work, but we all chose to do it. I'm also a baseball coach for a junior high team with back-to-back undefeated seasons.
 
Memorable event on the water: When I was about 5, my Dad had a trap for me by the Harbor spindle and it was always full. I've also had my boat sunk twice.
 
Favorite Music: Led Zeppelin. Favorite song is "Stairway to Heaven"
 
Favorite Book: Holy Bible. I Kings Chapter 17.
 
Favorite TV show: Lost, now that Prison Break is over
 
Favorite Sport: Basketball

I grew up in Winter Harbor and began lobstering when I was 11 years old. My father taught me to fish. I have 6 children, 17 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren.
 
My boat is Pandora because I felt like I opened a Pandora's Box when it was built.
 
I joined the Co-op in 1993. I started lobstering as a retirement job.
 
Favorite music: Harry James
 
Favorite TV: Outdoor Channel
 
Favorite Sport: Fishing

I began lobstering at the age of 16. I have a son, two brothers-in-law, three nephews, cousins, uncles, and a father-in-law who lobster fish. I learned from all my relatives. When I was in high school, I fished with my future father-in-law, fell in love with it, and have been doing it ever since.
 
My boat, Autumn Gail, is named after my daughter and wife, Autumn and Gail. My wife is the Winter Harbor postmaster. My daughter is in college and my 23-yr old son has been a lobsterman for 20 years.
 
I have fished for ground fish, scallops, shrimp, quohogs, sea cucumbers, urchins, lobsters, crabs in the last 29 years. I joined the Co-op in 1990 and have been on the Board of Directors. The comradery between fishermen and being my own boss are two of the main reasons I am a lobsterman.
 
Favorite Song: "Wipeout"
 
Favorite Sport: Baseball

I grew up in Winter Harbor and started lobster fishing when I was 16. My boat is named after my grandson.
 
I like catching lobster and being my own boss. My fondest memory of lobstering is having a clear day to fish.
 
I have been on the Co-op's Board of Directors, as well as being a past President.
 
Buy lots of lobsters and have them in a stew- my favorite way to eat 'em.
 
Favorite TV: Two and a Half Men
 
Favorite Sport: Shooting

I grew up in Prospect Harbor, Maine and began lobster fishing when I was 12 or 13 years old. My father-in-law was also a lobsterman, but I'm mostly self-taught. I've been fishing more than 50 years. I have two sons, three grandsons, and one son-in-law who are also into fishing.
 
Lobstering requires you know the ocean bottom well. I most enjoy being on the open ocean.
 
I joined the Co-op in 1971 and I have been on the Co-op's Board of Directors.
 
Memorable event on the water: My first new boat, in 1972

Winter Harbor has been the lace that I have called home all my 56 years of life. My hobbies include cheering on the Red Sox and collecting baseballs that have been autographed. I collect duck decoys created and sold locally. I also am a history buff and spend large amounts of time studying and reading about the Civil War period. Classic Rock and the new age Country music are what I enjoy listening to the most.
 
At the age of fourteen, my farther, Arvid, introduced me to the ways of lobstering. Herman, my grandfather, also shared his vast information on lobstering that can't be reproduced with the technology used today.
 
Having fished for well over thirty years, I have owned three boats. My first boat, an old, wooden Blackman boat was fondly named after my mother, Margaret E. My second boat was a thirty-three Young Bros. As other fishermen moved on and up to bigger and better, I chose to proudly fish for twenty-five years from the boat named after my wife. My last boat was created for improved progress with fishing. I stayed with a Young Bros. Model, longer and wider, built for the larger traps. Thus, I named after my granddaughter, Lady Lexy.
 
In 1974, when I first started fishing is when I joined the Winter Harbor Co-op. It is my belief that as people, struggling to survive in the same difficult field of work, we all need to stick together. I personally have served on the Board of Directors and have played a role as Vice President for twenty-five years and stayed united through the good and bad times.
 
There are many fond memories during my years of lobstering. I truly enjoyed the times when I was a kid fishing with my father and grandfather and hearing all the stories of the old days. But, my fondest memories are of taking my own children out on the boat with me, so I could tell them stories of the old days.
 
My oldest child, Angela, was my stern person through some of high school and all of college. She was strong and bull-headed and wouldn't let the men help her do her job. Through the harbor, she received the nickname "Wonder Woman" because of her strength. On one occasion, she lived up to her nickname doing the same amount of work as the men around her, carrying bait and even showing up the old timers. Angela is married now, with two kids and works with high school students, keeping them in their place.
 
Memorable event on the water: My youngest child, Mike, fished with me when he was much younger. He was eager to learn every aspect of lobstering as he could. When he was ten years old, he insisted on measuring his first lobster. So, he took the lobster in one hand and the measure in the other hand, excitement dancing in his eyes. He calculated the lobster was a short and in his haste to throw the short, he threw the measure over board instead. I can still see his little tow head drop when he realized what he had done. Now, he is grown, married and has a son of his own, whom he will teach to fish. Mike fishes out of the harbor also in his own beauty of a boat.

I was born in Winter Harbor, Maine. I joined the Co-op in 2008.
 
I started fishing with my dad, Ray, when I was 16, and learned from him. I started fishing on my own when I was 23. My family has many lobster fishermen, including my dad, my two grandfathers, Pup and Larry, my uncle, Kit, my cousins, and my sternman/cousin, Addison.
 
As young as I can remeber, I grew up going with my dad on his mussel boat and I always thought it was the coolest, toughest, most honorable job to have. Thanks to him, I started lobstering. I like being my own boss and being outside.
 
I also love swimming, hiking; and basically being outside. My biggest hobby is living in Key West, Florida during the summer months.
 
Memorable event on the water: I caught a baby seahorse once and some crazy looking lobsters. One was the normal color (blue-green) on one-half of his body and the other half was all white.
 
Favorite Music: I like Steve Miller, Aerosmith, and Tom Petty, but I'll listen to anything. Country's great, too.
 
Favorite TV Show: Deadliest Catch and the new Sword Fishing show.

I grew up in Winter Harbor. I began lobstering full time at 18 years old. My father, nephew, uncle, and cousin all fish. My father taught me to fish. I am the 6th generation in my family to be a lobster fisherman. I joined the Co-op in 1990 and am currently a Board member. I've been on the Board for the past 8 years or so.
 
I have two great children. A daughter named Azure who is 10 and a son, Simon, who is 7. My boat, the Master Simon, is named after my son. He is named after Simon Peter in the Bible. I have four sisters and a brother. I am currently dating a girl named Shawna, who has a son named Eli.
 
Memorable event on the water: I have lots of "notable" events about lobstering! I have "caught" washing machines, microwaves, toasters, and numerous other appliances. I have had slush puppy machines set up on my boat. I've had Halloween decorations all over my boat. I've had my traps paddle-locked together and duck taped together. I found dead snakes in my traps and well hose over my rope.
 
The most "notable" event that comes to mind is the morning I rowed out to my boat to find a live pig sitting there looking at me! Pigs are a huge superstition on boats and not only do you not say the word "pig" or "curly tail" on a boat, you don't bring ham, pork, or bacon in your lunch or bad things are sure to happen! The next morning my boat sank! Not good for me, but the pig lived a happy life at the farm in town.
 
Hobbies: Golf and hunting
 
Favorite music: Springstein, Matchbox 20, Van Morrison
 
Favorite song: Dire Straits, Romeo and Juliet
 
Favorite poem: "Crossing the Bar", Alfred, Lord Tennyson
 
Favorite TV shows: Lost, Forensic Files, The Shield
 
Favorite Sport: Baseball, Yankees
 
I enjoy lobstering because I get fresh air and have no boss. It's important to have good traps, haul them often, and try to learn more every year. We all work very hard and respect the ocean more than most people can imagine. We are on it every day and are blessed to have it as our "office".
 
I hope you have enjoyed our site and enjoy our lobsters! They are the best in the world!