The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1898-04-21
FISH BI fIE MILLION.
A Tale Of the Waters Where Shad
First Run.

4
The Editorof Southern Progress Tells
OF Four Hundred Thousand Herring
at one Haul OF tho seine-A Glimpse
mt the Fisheries OF North Carolina.
The water indented state of North
Carolina has over 5000 miles Of riparian
rights and the fisheries are the most
important of any in the United States,
IL not in the world. Three hundred
thousand yards of seine are operated
in Albemarle sound alone. in addition
thousands of stake, drift and pound
nets. Some seines are nearly four miles
long The investments in the large
fisheries Of the Albemarle section
sometimes reach $4,000 and the an
nual profits of many aggregate $50, 900.
The statistical review of these fisheries
represents that they employ 5000 peo-
pie and 5000 boats and that the pounds
Of fish taken yearly exceeds $4,000, 900.
North Carolina shad command the
highest prices because they begin to
run first and are early in the market
Leading industries of Dare, Chowan,
Tyrrell, HYDE and Washington, <oun-
ties are the taking of fish. The beds
OF the FIVE sounds are covered with
oysters. Formerly there were oper-
ated along the shores Of Tyrrell county
some Of the largest seine fisheries in
the world, but they were DESTROYED In
the civil war and have never been re-
. fitted.
Charles Hallock. the founder OF For
est and Stream. and an authority in
such matters. states that the great
variety Of edible fresh water fish taken
in the North Carolina rivers is some-
thing remarkable. The drag nets of
the Trent river often capture 20 diff
ferent species. Included are large and
small mouthed black bass, striped
bass. blue and yellow catfish, yellow
perch, mudcats. white perch, croppies,
mullets. red horse. sunfish, white and
hickory shad, herring, drum, rock,
weakfsh, pickerel and garfish. Where
the streams meet the tide the anodro-
nous species come up from the ocean
to spawn. The fresh water fish drop
down from the water sheds to disport
in the brackish inflow. Herring choke
all the streams Pickerel sport on the
very edge Of the tide, and weakflsh
spawn in the deep fresh water pools in
the coves having obvious connection
with the ocean.
OF the sound fisheries there are null
titudes. The channels leading down
among them are OF the lovely soft
brown of the Juniper. The cypress
forests draw toward them like single
masses Of green. Touches of white in
them Indicate houses and patches OF
gray the weather beaten wharves.
Their deep waters cleared OF cypress
knees and stumps are Of the pleasant
colors that painters love. Thin touches
Of mist here and there give mystery
to the atmosphere and soften over rug
ged outlines. Sailing in upon such
lovely vistas in their favorable mood,
one can have little reason for the dis
paragement of the first glimpses OF. the
sound fisheries Of North Carolina in
the memories Of any scene he may
have left behind him.
There Is no such nursery for fish of
ali species and proclivities a. the Trent
river. Most Of the channel ways are
paved with shell rock and spawn flnd
choice depositories In the hollows anc
erevices. All the way up the river. for
~ miles or more. there are fishing
stands made Of poles projecting from
the banks where negroes stand with
long handled dip nets and scoop them
up as they ascend. sometimes as many
as half dozen or more at a time.
Occasionally there are rude windlasses
fashioned Of unpeeled logs and poles to
be used in hauling drag nets across the
mouths Of the creeks. On the White
Oak and New rivers. in Onslow and
Carteret counties. bordering the sounds.
fishermen often make big earnings. The
ash business Of New Berne alone oc-
rupies four or five big shippers. ves-
sells from the outside and boats from
he Neuse bay and Contentena river are
constantly arriving with fish and oys-
ers. and the market slip at the foot
pf Middle street is usually crowded
With craft. Winter fishing for marine
ish Is always active from Mays Head
% Bogue sound.
All through December weakfish are
bundant. So are drum. spotted sea
fout. mullets, croakers. catfish. perch,
ed horse. pickerel and black bass.
rom Jan. to July fishing improves
ally. and Spanish mackerel, hogfish,
heephead and blue fish afford good
,shing for hook and line. July and
august are poor fishing months. Fall
shing begins in September with big
un Of mullets. With November comes
ne rock fish and perch.
Angling is a dead art in North Caro-
ma waters. Occasionally a venerable
egro will take his rickety. old punt
md steal away to a deep cove, but
portsmen seldom follow the sport in
his way. In the autumn they 60 to
he beach and troll for blue fish from a
Pilboat, or fish with hand lines for
eakfish. Pickerel are plenty in the
pring, but are of little account.
The larger number of the fish Of
orth Carolina are taken in long seines,
pa there are many enormous fisheries
the shores of Albemarle sound,
oanoke and Chowan rivers. At GER
IN periods of the year so per cent
the tonnage Of the Norfolk and
puthern railroad and Old Dominion
eamships Is fish. shipped from Eden
n' Elizabeth City. New Berne. Man
o. Beaufort. Hatteras, Morehead, !
'ansboro and Mays Head. The COM
on length Of the seines 10 5000 feet,
avl