Delaware gazette and state journal., 1884-03-06
AND PENINSULAR
SEEKING TO SEINE THE SHIEY
sHdD OF SPRING.
Fishermen Preparing
10 Go Down fhe Bay--The Phiia'iei-
phia aoa wilmington Markets.

The ahsd fishing season ia uni f,,r dis.
tart, and Wllmipgton's fishermen are
preparing themselves with mueh energy
for the two months lifs or tue bay. A
meeting OF the local fishermen was
held at the house OF Joseph Locke on
Lombard street near Bennett SATURDAY.
evening, to consider the advisability OF
keeping the shad in the Wilmington
market this season. The fehermen are
about equally divided as to whether the
fish should bs brough. to this market
or be seLt to the Philadelphia
to sell their fish on the street can realize
more by selling in this market, while
others, who are compelled 10 sell to the
Wholesale dealers can do much better
with Philadelphia parties. The whole.
sale prices here average from 81 to $40
per hundred, while in the Philadelphia
market they range from S25 to $35.
A we'll known fisherman told q GAZETTE
reporter that all the fishing bOa,s
will have left Ihis city fer the bay hy
March 18th. There will be this year
about 10 boats, each ost to have one net
and two men to manage it The floating
cabins, on which the local fishermen live
during the season, will be stationed at
the mouth of Duck creek, where there
will also be what is known as lay boat,
ready at all times to carry the fish to
Philadelphia buyers a; the mouth OF Hope
creek on the Jersev shore. Ths nets used
by the fishermen are from 400 to 700
fathoms long and are cast when the tides
are favorable, food tide being considered
the best. They are allowed to remain ia
the water from 2 to 5 hours, when thpy
are drawn up aud the fish deposited "a
the hold CT the fishing boats, which are
from 20 to % feet in length and abou; 6
feet s inches beam. Almost all OF the
fish when taken out of the bay ar
alive and will keep three days, TLe
Delaware shad AVERAGES from 80 To-
8 pounds in weight and often as maly AZ
800 or 4e0 are drawn up in QUE net 81
time. The fishermen are greatly bothered
with a speciss of fish calied mossbnb kels
whiph set into the nets by tns hurdred9
aud are thrown out upon the banks and
hauled away by the wagon loads BIZ
farmers who fasd them TO their hogs
The prospects for good season this year
arc very favorable, from the fact that
there i, great del oil ice to the north
west aud that sweeping down the river
drises the sbad by the thousands into
The eslt water of the bay which is mnoa
warmer.
Ths life of shad fisherman is novel
one. The floating cabins in which they
live, contain ak fishermen and a cook
In the evenings they spend their time on
these beats socially. They rise ss early
as 2 O'Clock in the morning to cast their
nets. Perhaps Thousand fisherman
from Philadelphia CONS to the ground
annually, and in the morning between 2
ani O'Clock on either side Of the bai
tor miles NAV be- seen & continuous roe
of lights making it look like one grea.
metropolis. Ii the season is good oae,
single fishermen oiesrs from 81 GOO to
II. 200 AT other times, he only make,
about 500. Shculd it ba decided to sand
the fish to The Philadelphia markets,
Wilmington vii. be almost entirely sup
piled this season with southern shad.
Among Wilmington's we'll known shaa
fishermen are William Il, Updike, Joseph
Locke, Harry Blddle, George Lipp,ncott,
Candy Cox, John Maxwell, N thaniei
McK.nny, Thomas Mcbride, Alfred Sery-
ensvn, william Rauson, Johu Elliott,
Samuel Barber and Jefferson Garrison.