Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-03-30

net is almost sure to be landed on the
shore. This is hard and troublesome work,
and frequently haus are made when the
catch will by no means pay for the wear
and tear on the nets. The different modes
of catching shad are interesting. In addi-
ton to the use of nets it Is said on good
authority that the fish will rise to a fly,
although anglers in this section make little
or no effort to hook the toothsome delicacy.
Passenger on steamboats, frequently see
a dozen or more poles in the water, and
from one pole to another pieces of netting
are visible. This is the gill net, and it is
this net that Is death to the shad. The
nets. long and straight, are made of fine
linen Irvine, with what the fishermen usual
ly call fve-inch mesh. Gill nets are gen.
orally set in the evening" the heavy stakes
being driven that the net may be
stretched at right angles to the current.
These stakes are driven in the mud at in
tervals of about one hundred feet. and from
one to another the web Is stretched, the top
line being fastened to large corks, while
heavy lead weights hold the bottom of the
net in the river.
When the bottom of the river Is too hard
to permit the driving Of the stakes, the
fishermen make float nets in the same way,
using heavy anchors to keep the net in the
proper position. Then the large schools of
shad making their way with the current
try to pass through the nets which, of
course, they cannot do. The Irvine slips be-
lind their gills. escape Is an impossibility,
and the fish are soon strangled to death.
The Pound Net.
Then there is the pound net, which is
also good one, not only for shad, but for
ether fish. This is trap into which the
fish are almost sure to drop when 1t is
properly constructed. 1t consists of an OBJ
struction in the river extending from the
shore to deep water, and at the end of this
long network. which is called the leader"
is a funnel-shaped mouth, leading into the
pound or trap The fish naturally go
fhrnr oh SrInoM in in m off fort To,
get around the obstruction, and those that
go in seldom manage to get back through
the opening.
Then there Is the Dyke net, which is
constructed on the order of a weir. 1t is
used more extensively in bad weather than
at any other time. for the reason the fish
are taken from it alive, and are there
fore that much freSher and in better con-
dition for shipment.
These are the principal nets used in the
Potomac. In some of the small tributaries
weirs are used for catching fish for family
use At the river front in the vicinity of
18th street there is always a crowd of
men ard boys during the fish season. and
when there are no boats to be unloaded nor
any fish on the wharf there Is an anxious
look On their faces, for they are expecting
the arrival of another load of the fish
from the lower river. when they will have
an opportunity to get in a supply or pick
up an odd. Along the line of Water street
for two or three squares, as well as on
what is known as the "Fishtown' wharf
fish huckSterS have their wagons, and
sometimes there are more than a hundred
wagons there, awaiting the arrival of
boat or the sale of a cheap lot of fish.
In the Packing Houses.
The owners of the packing houses have
most of the fish cleaned on the wharf.
where the work is done by men and women
of both colors. who render songs and the
choruses of plantation melodies. When
these people get through with the fish they
are put in tubs and washed, and later they
find their way to the packing houses, where
they are put in salt and packed in barrels
or small tubs. Many of them are sold in
this way, while others are put up for
smoking purposes. OF late years many
families put up their own fish for winter
use.
The question is frequently asked. What
becomes of the shad in the winter?'
1t is certain that they leave the fresh
water and make their way south in the
salt water for the winter season. re-
turning again in the spring of the year to
the waters of their birth to spawn. 1t is
singular, but the fish invariably make their
way to the beginning of tidewater. During
the cold winter months many are caught
by the deep salt water METERS.
1t is related that shad has become so