The daily gazette., 1880-02-10
A Flshy subJec'ss, ss,s,

oNE OF THE VETERANS. IN tyg.
The papers have published accounts
Of the catching of shad in the Chop
tank and other lower Eastern Shore
rivers more than a month ago. Her.
ring have also been caught In some
quantities down there. Last week
some Philadelphia fishermen near Bonn
bay Hook were surprised to find that
their net contained half dozen good
sized shad. All these things are har-
bingers of an early opening of the fish
ing season in the Delaware, and an
early season it will be if the weather
continues mild.
"How many men of this city are en-
gagged in the sbad fishing business P >
was asked Of old John Robinson, the
genial tender of Market street bridge.
!" About forty" he answered; when l
was boy there were not more than
six or seven in the whole place. -
When Mr.. Robinson. was hoy was
something likerthree score years ago,
and fifty-seven years of his long life
has he spent with capacity OF a giller
on the Delaware river. This long con-
tinuance as hauler of the seine ropes
gives his statements about the bust
ness the color of, authority, and pecu-
liarly adapts him for the task of ex-
planning it's details. In compliance
with a request he sat down yesterday
afternoon, and, as he knit his seine for
this years service, recited the facts to
the reporter that are used in this ar
ticle. 'en9
Fishing for shad commences as soon
as the shad come into our river. or
late the fishermen have not got to work
until the last week in March. But the
commencement used to be about
March Bird. 1t continues until about
June 10th, but some times it lasts
longer than that. There are two
methods of catching shad- the hauling
or draw seines and the gilling nets
The former is not in general use on the
Delaware. There is one Of these shores
near Bombay Hook, some on the is
lands up the river and few on the
New Jersey shore. These seines are
laid out in the river from large boats.
some of them carrying as many as for
ty oars, and then hauled into land by
iAtHho Va "a DStdhb W NhlCh hOi oCo ntC
hItched. OF this manner of fishing,
nothing more will be said at this time.
The gilling seines are laid out from
skiffs carrying two men. One man
handles the oars and the other ''plays
out" The nets are so laid as to
stretch right across the river, and. are
constructed with meshes about 1-2
inches in size. Into these meshes the
shad swim as they go up the river,
seeking for fresh water in which to
spawn, but the hole is not large
enough to allow the body of the fish
to pass through. In swimming back
the fine twine catches under the gills,
md the fish is a prisoner until the net
is raised and it is thrown into the bot
tom of the boat. The nets are raised
and laid out two times day as a gen.
eral thing, and the number caught
each time widely varies. 1t averages
in good season about seyenty-five "a
day, but for year or two past the
has been much less than that.
Time has been when one boat scored
Us high as Sal shad in a single day
But those were halcyon days for the
shad fishermen, and it seems that they
have passed never to return. Once, in
torty-two days, boat caught 1000
shad, with a seine not seventy-five
in length. The nets in use
now are from 400 to 700 fathoms long,
md with all this scope of twine fish
erman would consider himself supreme
y lucky if he could do one-ifth as well
rs that. Twenty years ago there was
mt little seine fishing done below the
mouth of the Delaware, and now it is
upon as far down the
Day as Ship John Shoals. f.
The life of a giller is hard and wear
ng enough. He is at his task through
sunshine and storm, and many a night |
inds him on the open bay in his cookie
she'll boat, with the wind blowing
great guns, wintery rain beating pit
lessly down,a and the tumultuous waves
.ossing spray that freezes to the oars
md ropes as he handles them. In the
Early part of the season they fish in the
upper bay when the shad are more
plentiful, not having got so far up
There they live rudely in shanties in
lround Bombay Hook, up Smyrna
creek and above that. When they |
change their base of operations as the |
season advances and come up the riv- |
n, they put up in their homes in Will |
nington, though some live in shanties
1t the mouth Of the Christiana creek.
The markets in Wilmington and
consume all the shad
:anght in the Delaware. Those caught |
lown the bay are shipped to the latter
;ity, and Wilmington gets nearly all
md New Castle. In the early part of
he season they sell for $75 per hundred
II So piece. Soon, when the ''catch'p
the price falls and they sell
Tor from $40 to $15 per hundred, and |
10 cents apiece. If the shad are fine
md in good condition price of $1S
IAN be procured readily.
The falling off of the fishing bust
less has been the source of much un-
,asiness to those identified with the
,rade. The fish began to get scarce
,bout sixteen years ago, and the de-
,rease has been steady ever since. Many
hink that this is caused by so many
,ntering into the work, and by the use
If large seines near the mouth of the
,ay. These seines break up the
and drive many of the fish
,ack. This, accompanied by the fact
hat fish have been caught so steadily,
las reduced the number, and the trade
las become almost annihilated. Last
ear many of the fishermen, were so
that they hung up their
-, ,.s, E, nd nats and ratired from the fol- |