Netting the Waters catches big audiences

Chris Abbott

Daryl Granger’s new feature-length film, Netting the Waters, is both entertaining and informative.

It shows how commercial fishing is done on Lake Erie, from the perspective of Port Dover’s fishing fleet.

“Usually I do some big project every year, and this year decided to do something different,” said Granger, noting this was his biggest project so far. “I wanted to know what everybody else wanted to know – when those tugs disappear on the horizon, out of Port Dover, what happens? So I approached Sharie (Edwards) and George Gibbons, who own the Pleasant Port Fish Company, the last fishers in Port Dover that sell a portion of their catch locally - so you can get pickerel and perch within hours of coming off the boat – and they said, ‘Let’s give it a shot.’

“RoseLe has a very respected name, so they knew who we were and had that initial trust.”

On April 19, 2024 Granger made his first voyage out.

“And that’s when I got my eyes opened up,” he smiled, “because I had NO IDEA what actually has to happen… some days they catch fish, some days they don’t.”

Over the next weeks and months, he went out several times (more than 10), rigging cameras at 3 a.m. on the Port Dover based boats.

“There’s eight boats. They would go out, and I would take them all down and process the footage. We used GoPros, SLRs, and we used drones – I am a commercial drone pilot – and we used iPhones. We also did underwater photography… up to 100 feet.

“So we captured every way possible… you get a firsthand experience without getting seasick or without smelling like fish.”

Granger notes with a smile that he was only seasick on one occasion.

“Generally I went out on calm water days because I needed that for the drone. But on the way back one day, we were two hours out of Port Dover and the wind picked up. We started riding in the trough, the space between the crests of the waves. That did it.

The main focus of Netting the Waters is George Gibbons, a captain for more than 46 years, who operates a 75-year-old tug, and Joe Zimba, captain of a smelt boat.

“The fishing community is a very tight-knit bunch. They saw what I was doing with George, and they got it. So now I am welcome on their boats, any time. And I can ask them any questions. I was straight up saying ‘I don’t know anything about fishing’… so I have learned everything from the fishermen.

“The ironic thing is… I don’t like fish, I don’t eat fish,” he laughed.

“We covered everything, including cleaning the fish. I even went with them to Chatham where they process all the Lake Erie smelt. You see all that in the film.”

Netting the Waters includes about 10-11 minutes of the history of Port Dover fishing, from 1874 to present day, including the Lake Erie fish wars with the Americans, and how it became the world’s largest fresh water fleet from the 1950s to the 1980s.

“At that time (prior to 84-85), you didn’t need a captain’s license,” Granger noted. “Now you have to, it’s law. Before, you had no quota, you could fish whatever you wanted. It was almost like a free-for-all.”

THREE SHOWS ADDED

The six-month project was finally completed and ready to show at the Strand Theatre in Simcoe. Two shows in October sold out, including the Oct. 21 premiere which sold out in just one day. Three more dates were added – Nov. 4 at 6:45 p.m. and Nov. 11 at 6:45 p.m. and Nov. 25. Contact the Strand box office Tuesday-Friday, 6:15-7:45 p.m. or Saturday-Sunday 1:15-2:45 p.m. and 6:15-7:45 p.m. at 519-426-2736 for tickets ($20).

The feature-length documentary is one hour and 15 minutes.

“I’m showing how the fishing is done, everything they want to know. But it’s done in a cinematic way. You get to see the scenery, unobstructed views of the sunrises. You get to see the bad weather that they go through. You get to see what it’s like under the water. So you get a better view, sometimes, than the captain’s do.”

It’s not a scripted show, he stressed.

“You can’t script that. These guys have to do their jobs and you can’t say ‘Hey, can we do that again?’ So I learned to adapt to that, so I did not impede anything. They’re on a mission, they want to get their catch - they only get paid if they bring in the catch.”

Granger did not have any photographic assistants on the water.

“When I was flying the drone, I was very nervous because you’re in the middle of nowhere and your target is moving. Then, you are on a ‘tin can’ which causes interference. Then, the wind picks up. Then, the seagulls come in and you hope you can get that drone back to home base. I sweated so much bringing the drones in. It was craziness, actual craziness.”

He was able to get the drone back every time, however he lost four action cameras. Two ‘fell off’ and are on the bottom of Lake Erie. Two were damaged by compression at 130 feet.

“I did have sponsors to cover my costs (not including his time), including Great Lakes Food Company. I said yes, as long as it doesn’t affect my film. It’s not an influence on it.”

It took Granger more than 100 hours to edit the film and do the narration.

“I think we have over 20 terabytes (20,000 GB) of data. It was recorded in 4K and 5.4K. We also upscale. I wouldn’t put it up on a big screen at the Strand if it didn’t have that quality.”

Granger expects the documentary to find a permanent home at the Port Dover Harbour Museum.

Small clips have been posted on the RoseLe Facebook page, typically getting 30,000-plus views.

“We wanted to give people a taste.

“There is interest, because when I came back on the boats and there were people on the pier, they waved. They were excited to see us, so you wave back. People love those tugs. And they don’t know what’s in them. They have no idea what’s in them, they just like the look of the tug coming back… and it’s full of fish. But not necessarily.”

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Daryl Granger and his wife purchased RoseLe Studio from the Mudge family in 2010.

“This business is 69 years old this year, so it’s the oldest photographic studio in Ontario,” Granger noted. “We’re photographers and we do prints – we give you the ‘good stuff.’ We provide the best quality you can get. We can do all kinds of things to an image… anything imaging-wise, we do.”

Chris@granthaven.com