When the Caplin Come In

DESCRIPTION: "Oh, now is the time when the men are all ready ... And live on the beach while the caplin is in." The crowd nets caplin from the beach; row boats and motor boats and horses "full breeds and ponies" haul the netted fish away
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1955 (Doyle-OldTimeSongsAndPoetryOfNewfoundland, 3rd edition)
KEYWORDS: moniker fishing commerce
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Doyle-OldTimeSongsAndPoetryOfNewfoundland, "When the Caplin Come In" (1 text, 1 tune): pp. 85-86 in the 3rd edition
Roud #7318
RECORDINGS:
Omar Blondahl, "When the Caplin Come In" (on NFOBlondahl02)
NOTES [118 words]: Caplin are small deep water fish that come to shore in June and July to spawn. They are netted for bait, food or manure [per GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador site]. - BS
Newfoundland's main commodity, for both local and domestic consumption, is cod -- but catching cod requires bait, and caplin was the single most common bait. G. M. Story, W. J. Kirwin, and J. D. A. Widdowson, editors, Dictionary of Newfoundland English, second edition with supplement, Breakwater Press, 1990, pp. 82-84, have two pages of common phrases pertaining to caplin (e.g. "caplin baiing," "caplin bunting," "caplin cart," "caplin trip"). People didn't eat caplin as much as cod, but they used it in many, many ways. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.0
File: Doyl3085

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