From May to October during the "Dirty Thirties," hand trollers fished a thousand miles of Vancouver Island coastline in open rowboats as they followed the migration of coho and spring salmon north through the Georgia Strait.

At dawn, the trollers rowed or sailed to where they hoped the fish would bite. Tying the fishing line around their legs, they trailed the line over the gunwale into the water and continued rowing until a strong tug signalled that a fish was hooked. After pulling the fish into the boat with hands calloused from weeks of work, they rowed after the next catch and repeated the process. Twice daily a "tender" boat collected the fish. Although the trollers were paid only pennies per pound of weight, they were able to earn up to $300 in a successful season and avoid the breadlines and work camps of the Depression years.

Haida and Tsimshian fishers trolled the waters around Prince Rupert, the Queen Charlotte Islands, and along the northern coast to Alaska. They fished spring salmon, which early in the season weighed up to 50 kilograms. Native women also fished and one was credited with catching more than 100 fish for the season!

Despite a reputation for independence and self-sufficiency, hand trollers found their lives a struggle. For up to five months they lived in shacks built from salvaged driftwood and lumber, working from dawn to dusk in all weather conditions. Cooperation was essential for survival. As one old salt put it, “A lot of us knew where to fish, and out at sea we followed the same rules as inshore, making the old counterclockwise circle to give everyone a turn (at catching the salmon).”