Recently, while reading Downhome magazine, I found an article about a Newfoundlander named Perry Rideout (he sounds like a great guy). But in my story, I met a man while vacationing in Twillingate named Melvin Horwood; strangely enough, he too was from Durrell...maybe they know each other.

I was in Twillingate for the Fish, Fun and Folk Festival with my family and friends. We were in Newfoundland two years ago and heard about the festival, so we decided to come back this year for it.

Twillingate is a lovely place; the people are great and so friendly. We were on our way back from the Downhome Store in Durrell, when my friend Barb, who was travelling with us, saw a string of fish (maybe six or seven across) hanging between two poles on a dock, about four feet off the ground. We wondered why they were like that. So we stopped and got out of the car to investigate.

Out of a small building at the end of the dock came a white haired man, Melvin. When we asked about the codfish, he explained that they were hung out like that. He said that it was to let them dry better and to keep the mink from getting to them. It was very interesting to listen to Melvin talk, as his story went on; he took us into his little red museum, located at the end of his dock.

Once in the museum, Melvin spoke about his fishing adventures for cod in the North Atlantic. He said that he had been fishing since the age of three. One of the pieces of history that he showed us was his cutting board for the cod. He said that he could split a cod in four seconds flat - pretty impressive. He also said that he wasn’t worried about cutting himself because he "simply didn’t have the time."

His museum of things was beyond interesting, much like the man himself. The museum housed newspaper clippings, postcards, things to do with fishing, do-dads and knick-knacks sent to him from people who visited him in years past.

Before we decided to leave Melvin and his museum, pictures were taken of us with him. He made sure that each of us dressed the part in a bright yellow rain slicker and sou’ wester hat. But what made each picture was the chunk of iceberg Melvin had fished out of the ocean the day before. He was happy to let us pose with it.

Holding the piece of ice really made our experience the following day’s adventures that much more interesting; we went out on an iceberg tour and saw a large one about 20 minutes from show. The boat looked very small compared to that massive ice cube.

On our way out, Barb mentioned that her husband Larry, (who was doing other things at the time) would love to go fishing for cod, if Melvin would be able to take him out. To our surprise, Melvin was happy to do it.

Later in the week, Melvin took Larry, me and my daughter Mindy out for the fishing adventure of a lifetime.

None of us had been cod fishing before and really enjoyed our first time. Melvin was a great guide. He showed us the proper way to jig for cod, the history of cod fishing in the area, as well as showing us some breathtaking scenery.

One of the rock formations that he showed us had a hole through the centre of the rock, you could see right through. He then pointed out a hiking trail down to the hole, if one would be so adventurous. He even took us to some small beaches where the water was so clear that you could see clear to the bottom, places that larger boats could not go.

My daughter took many pictures of us fishing for cod, even losing a few. There are many pictures of myself, Larry and Melvin on our adventure for cod. We all had a wonderful time. I even got a picture of Mindy pulling in a cod. It was a thrill for her to be able to say that she went cod fishing with her dad while in Newfoundland.

Melvin’s boat was between 18-20 feet long and very deep. We got to a spot a couple of miles out when he stopped, looked around at some landmarks, the colour of the sky and what else (we’re not sure) and stated, “Here looks good.” So we started to fish.

We were out less than an hour but caught a few good sized fish. Sadly it was time to head back to shore.

When we got back to his dock, his grandchildren were there, ready to go cod jigging with their grandpa. And to tell you the truth, you could tell that Melvin was just as excited to go out with them. You could see it in his face how much he loved to be on the water, fishing.

We took more pictures on the dock of our catch, of Melvin and of the breathtaking views before saying "goodbye" to our new friend in Durrell, Melvin Horwood. He gave us an adventure that none of us expected to take, but were so glad that we did.

No matter what happens in the future, the time spent in Twillingate and Durrell, and the wonderful time spent fishing with Melvin, will never be forgotten.

Melvin and Terry Rideout are two of a kind: storytellers, historians, maybe even fishing buddies. But both are a great asset to Newfoundland’s fishing history.

We’ll be back in Newfoundland in 2013, maybe sooner, but we’ll be sure to look up Melvin for yet another adventure on the North Atlantic. And if time permits, maybe we’ll even look up Terry Rideout.
  Submitted By: mindy grainger