Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1894-11-27
FISHING WAS EASY.
THE OLD kNRkERBOCK6RS HAD THE
SPORT AT THEIR DOORS.

THE OLD kNCkERBOCKERS HAD THE
SPORT AT THEIR DOORS.
| The Olden Times When Manhattan Island
Had Its Ponds FILLED with the Shining
Beauties of the Finny Tribe-How They
Captured Swapping Turtles.
well TO do fisherman who was satu-
rated with the angling craze built few
years ago ON lake not many miles from
this city palatial mansion with all the
appointments that wealth could devise or
support, but his hobby of fishing cropped
out when building the rear end Of his
| house, which was placed on piles and pro-
jected some so feet over the lake Here
on his back porch, this old angler f1shed
| from morn to night until his lines We're
| cast on the waters of Lethe. Had this man
| lived in the city of New York so years ago
| he would have found more than one dwell
| ing built to his liking and so constructed
| that his hobby of fishing could have had
| full sway without spending a penny for
its indulgence. The old Knickerbockers
| had daily fishing bouts at their back gates
| and fruitful ones they always turned out
| TO be-
A section of this city which is now a
/ great manufacturing and distributing CEN
Ter was in 1875 covered by large pond,
extending from Pearl street on the south
| to Canal street on the north, and the pres
emit Center street passes from north to
| south through the center of the old site Of
| this pond. 1t was called Collect pond, and
| its outlet ran into the North river by way
| of what Is now known as Canal street.
Near its mouth and running e0uthwest q
branch of the outlet made Its .y into the
North river, forming the eastez boundary
q q 49, - no rlser
tlne tide great sport to the'oid timers VINO
went a fishing for weakfiah, striped bass
ard white perch as they came In to feed on
the low lying flats when covered by tho
Hood tide, which, In the spring, overf1owed
the meadows and came nearly up to Broad
way.
The water of Collect pond was fresh, 1t
being fed from springs. Perch, sunfish,
cells and catfish, all of large size and Of
delicious flavor, lived in its waters, and
prolific were the catches made by the old
Knickerbockers with their primitive tao
kle, which usually consisted of a reed pole
about ten feet long, a homemade line OF
brown linen thread, Limerick hooks-no
others We're used in America at that time
"a small piece of lead as sinker and a box
| of garden worms. With such tackle and
the muscular overhead jerk of the victim
| it was not unusual TO make a score Of 20
to 80 fish in few hours
There was another large pond, called
Sunfish pond, existing come 75 years ago
on q site now embraced In the area covered
| by Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth streets
and Fourth and Fifth avenues. 1t covered
about three acres and had neither outlet
nor inlet. being fed from bottom springs
of very cold water. 1t contained the same
species of fish as lived in Collect pond,
with the addition of great numbers of
swapping turtles which were greedily
| fished for by the pld timers. As their
method of catching snappers was unique
and doubtless would be found today to be
alluring to these delicious fresh water tur-
ties. it is worth while to make a note of
the manner in which they were captured.
The old knickerbocker would smell. with
linen thread To the end of piece of cop
per wire 10 TO II inches long, medium
sized hook being careful TO wax the thread
with shoemaker wax. The other end OF
the wire then bent to form an eye, TO
which was tied strong line. The hook
was then baited with young frog, the
| line tied TO a stake on the edge of the pond
and the frog cast into the water. This
/ was a very effective layout line, as the
| frog would live for several days. Our
gossipy and interesting informant, who
lived in those old days, does not, however,
tell US how the festive frog was kept in
| the water II the batracian of those days
was up to snuff, like the fin de steele
species of the present era, the fisherman
would often find when he went TO take up
| his catch the knowing amphibian sitting
| complacently and perhaps cross legged up
/ on the stake TO which the line was tied
|. The cream of the angling outings of the
kald residents was had on the brackish
Tidal waters of the East river, and the
most freauented fishing grounds extended
/ liver district now represented as being
| opposite Fifth street north to Twenty
Fourth street and Bandamula point The
| river end of the last named street was the
most fruitful Here, with headquarters
/ at the old yanrast tavern, the anglers Of
so years ago would gather, and, unlike
4 their modern congeners, had no cause to
| make exaggerated statements as to scores
| and weight Of fish caught. The latter
| were abundant, consisting of weakfsh,
| founders, striped bass, kingfsh. Blacklist
/ and sea bass. Struggling striped bass
| is all that is left to remind US of the har-
/ vest DAYS of the old anglers, and sea bass
and weakfish are never taken now in the
| East river. kingfish- now almost exter
/ minated in q water AREA of so miles around
| this city, actually swarmed in the East
| river between the points named above and
| along the mud fats which extended out
| for some distance all along the New York
side of the river from Fifth street north.
| weakfsh four and five pounds in weight
| fed in great shoals Cd every incoming tide
| Striped bass were caught eyeryw here in
| the water district described, founders
| were ubiquitous in their presence, and
black drum Of great size and weight were
| often caught by the hand liners, class of
| fishermen very greatly in the majority In
| those DAYS A stretch of fat rocks extend
ed over an area which is now opposite
/ Twentieth and Twenty first STREETS and
| First avenue and Avenue b, and here
many anglers gathered at every high wa
| ter in season, for striped bass fishing, and
/ success attended them at all times
| With this wealth of fishing at their door
/ steps, who can wonder that the early resi-
| dents of this city did not roam far TO e1-
| plore other pastures These were almost
/ within arms reach. Above the Harlem
/ river every stream. especially the Bronx,
/ teemed with trout, the red spotted beauty
i Of the brooks Across in New jersey there
was DO tributary TO IT, Hackensack rive