The daily gazette., 1877-05-09
A New Foe of the Shad.

IL is the belief of some persons who
have given attention to the subject
that the introduction into the Connec-
ticut river by the fish commissioners
OF the black bass, has had the effect
to diminish the number of shad this
year and also to lessen very materially
the number of the striped bass. Some
three years ago. if we remember the
commissioners stocked the river with
black bass. Tkis is a well known
game fish, whose capture affords sport
10 the fisherman, in those waters which
have been stocked with this variety of
tish-as the beautiful Waramaug lake,
10 Lltchf1eld county and other land
locked waters, where the black bass
once Introduced, multiplies rapidly.
and extermlnates most other kinds .of
hsh. The pickerel, we believe, he does
notsucceed in "bulldozing;" but the
perch and other fish suffer. Since he
has had time to grow aud multiply in
his new quarters in the Connecticut,
The shad, this year, begin TO show the
effects, either Of the black bass or some
other scourge; fer the shad "catch, !"
this year threatens to be only half as
y
mink no black bass have yet been in
troduced, and shad there are selling
at $S hundred so abundant are they.
Here, iii the old time home, the Con
necticut, famous for the best of all
shad, the supply. for somesunknown
cAuscis certain y much dim nshed this
year. Owing tu the stocking of the
river with new shad-spawn, above the
ii olyoke dam, a few years since-and
with the building of an apron on the
dam-the supply of Connecticut river
shad last year greatly increased, and
the fish were bigger and finer; now,
there seems to be sudden falling off,
beyond the usual run. The voracious
J black bass, though very destructive,
Is not their only enemy; the young
shad are exposed to wholesale destruc-
tion even in the germ-form, for the up
coming shad, that return in April and
May to the favorite upper waters OF
this old river to spawn, are followed
by silent army of cells, who devour
all the spawn that is dropped along
the river bottom on the way up. The
young sbad that are born are prompt
ly assailed by number of foes, some
of whom are scarcely ever seen and al
most unknown even by fishermen.
The burbot is one of. these; and his
most prolific congener, the eel, is a
great destroyer. To let loose upon the
hunted lshad another and still more
destructive foe, who slaysas many as
the pounds" erected off the mouth
of the river, is certainly hard upon
him; and ifthe black bass is the offend.
er. he threatens to exterminate the
most delicious of all the fish that swim
One victim of the rapacity of the
blaolr buss is said to be the striped
bass. This is a very fine table fish
which has been caught, in the Con.
necticut river near Hartford, weighing
upwards of seventy pounds. His ordi
nary weight, when caught here in the
river, rangesfrom about eight to TWEEN
ty pounds. Stuffard and backed, OF
simply boiled he is delicious fish
and he is quite as good boiled with
with proper accompaniments, az he is
when baked. II, as we hear asserted
this tine, ,tlsh, like the shad, has been
more than neclminated by the black
bass, it is time to do what can be done
to destroy the hass-for they are not
as good fish as the striped bass, nor
nearilY so good as a nicely broiled
shad. Times,