Living Off the Land
Reminiscing about Fishing the Hudson River
Bob Gabrielson began his fishing career in 1942
How did you become a fisherman?
Right where the Tappan Zee Bridge hits the shoreline on the Hudson River there was a big sandy spit of land and about four different groups of fishermen. When I was 12, I’d go down by the shoreline and they would give me $1 a day and a fish to grab the fish from the hall-seine net and throw them in boxes. When I went home with the fish, I loved it, I loved it.

What was it like to be a fisherman in your early years?
We would fish 24 hours a day during the tide and we slept, a lot of the times, in the boat. We’d catch striped bass in March, and then set up a line to catch catfish in April and May. Then, in June, we’d catch enough crabs to develop a market for them.

I used to take my fish, run down to the Fulton Fish Market (in lower Manhattan) and drop them off. There I’d pick up about 400-600 pounds of ocean species, porgies, flounders, sea bass, whichever one was cheap. I’d bring them to my dock here in Nyack and put them right near the stand and sell them. I had people standing around like the Grand Union waiting to buy them up.

How much of your earnings did you get directly from fishing?
It varied, like anything you take from the earth. We had good years and we had bad years. There were some guys that made 50, 60, or 70 percent of their living from the river. We always caught fish, even the times when it was bad we still caught things. I’ve made some good money from fishing. I built my house with shad.

What was your favorite thing about being a fisherman?
I love being my own boss and I love fish. I should have scales. I really feel I had the capability to do a lot of big things with my life, but I grew out of everything else and am still involved with fishing. I’ll be doing this for the rest of my life.