The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-27
countless hordes of fish that await the

countless hordes of fish that await the
sportsmans coming.
To the man to whom fish mean money,
and who, from the bound.ess deep, draws
his daily bread, Savannah is a central
point for his operations, with advantages
that no other port hereabouts can offer.
Every winter many of these fishermen
come down from the North and spend two
or three months plying their trade The
advance guard of this floating colony is
already here, and within the next fortnight
there will be several score of them here
preparing for the shad and sturgeon sea-
'on just ahead. This. season runs about
twelve weeks, or nearly up to April. Dur
ing that time Savannah will be the source
from which a considerable part of the sup
ply of some Northern and Western cities
will be drawn. Ten carloads of these fish,
principally shad, will be shipped, ii is es-
timated, every week. or 125 cars for the
season. Allowing 5000 pounds to the car
and it is safe to say that the average is
not much, if any, below that, and there
are gross shipments of $4,000 pounds of
shad and sturgeon. The local market will
consume quite a. large amount, but moth
ing, of course, to compare with the guam
tity sent away. 1t is said that from 80 to
200 boats will be engaged in this business
this season, employing in the neighborhood
of 500 men, the fishing being mainly done
on the Savannah and Ogeechee rivers,
streams which are now well stocked with
shad, and which give promise of contin-
uing to furnish an increasing supply for
many years to come. The dealers pay
probably % cents per 100 pounds for the
fish, on the average, and the net returns
to the fisherman running boat or two are
good. considering the small capital in
vested.
While the small local fishermen all the
year round bring considerable to market
1t is doubtful If they furnish enough TO
keep the local market well stocked, let
alone leave surplus sufficient for ship
ping purposes. 1t is from the ocean wa
ters along the Georgia and Florida coasts
that the bulk of the fish shipped from here
are taken. From Punta Gorda, Tampa.
Cedar Keys, Jacksonville and other points
fish are shipped quite heavily to the deal
ers here and by them reshipped to their
customers through large extent of terri
tory. To the northern markets, go black
bass, red snapper, shad, sturgeon and
trout, they making, 1t is stated, the larg-
est part of the shipments to those points.
| The Georgia shad Is to-day recognized as
| the equal of the shad of any river, not
being inferior to those of the Delaware,
noted for its shad. the serving of which
| planked IS the great caro- at various river
resorts during the season. For delicate
quality, combined with size, the shad from
| the waters hereabouts do not suffer by
comparison with those caught in any
| streams elsewhere. Connoisseurs have
acknowledged that a Savannah shad stuff
/ fed with oysters and baked, is a meal that
| the king of epicures would not disdain.
So with our pompano and Spanish mack
| erel No daintier fish are to be found than
they To the lover of good eating no
| choicer dish can be had than a broied
pompano, served with hot butter and sea
! soning, and the mackerei, the trout, the
! whiting. the bass and the bluefish that
are caught near Savannah yield to nc
/ other fish of any other coast in those quail
tiles that touch the palate most crafty
| ingly. It is the very profusion Of good
/ things that this fish market offers that
disturbs. With such an Offering selection
4 becomes difficult. Nature has been prodig-
/ ally generous and Savannah is her bene-
/ fciary.
/ A stroll in the city market yesterday
morning revealed a supply that the de-
mands of Friday had not consumed and
which seemed fully adequate for all the
/ requirements of the day. To the sports
man the stalls brought pleasant recollec-
lions Of hours OF absolute freedom from