The times., 1901-03-31
POTOMAC RIVER FISHERIES
A Time When They Were Mesa
Valuable Possessions.
shad. Herring. sturgeon, and Other
Pslatabte DeniSeBs of the Waters
ia Wonderful PrOfusioas The
supply Now Greatly Diminished.


suppIy Now Greatly Diminished.
The shad, herring and other fisheries Of
the Potomac and its tributaries were. IN
former days OF greater value than at
present, it was early recognized In the
history of both Virginia and Maryland
that laws were necessary to protect the
fish in the streams. and hence in 1888. an
act was passed by the Maryland Legis-
lature prohibiting the destruction OF
young fish by weirs and dams. the penal
" for a violation OF this law being $50
This law became permanent in ITss A
early as 1875 an act was passed to prevent
persons from visiting the Patuxent River
with cords or poles from the commence
ment of February TO the beginning OF
June. the penalty being eI09 for a white
person. and IL a slave il WAS ten lashes
on the bare back. unless the slave was
redeemed by his masters payment OF Gia
In the early days. many thousands Of
fish were taken each season. and some
times very large hauis We're made. This
season usually lasted from five to seven
weeks, beginning about the last Of March
and ending early in May. Some writer's
on this subject say that l. coo O00 barrels OF
herring WAS not too high an estimate for
the number of fish taken in season.
Also. with reference to the flavor of the
fish of the Potomac. it is said that. next
TO a small and delicate Nova Scotia her
ring, the Potomac herring was more nu-
tritious by far than any others in the
waters Of the United States
The shad. rOckfish, and sturgeon from
the same stream. according to epicures.
had favor superior 10 any others In the
Union. In 1880. when Jonathan Elliott
wrote the Ten Miles Square" fine shad
were worth s. per hundred. Fails" shad.
Sl2 per hundred; herring. 81 per hundred:
rockiish, from g to 81 per thousand. and
sturgeon, cents per pound. The weight
Of each kind Of fish found in the Potomac
is given in the same work as follows:
Studgeon, 40 to 120 pounds: rockfsh.
to . pounds: shad. pounds: tailor {;
pounds; gar, s pounds: eel fresh water. 3
pounds. common, IL pounds; carp.
pounds, herring . pounds: pike. pounds;
perch. white, l pound; perch. yellow, l
pound; muiet. fine scaled l pound.
corasc scaled. haif-pound.
OLD SYCAMORE LANDING.
Sycamore Landing, thirty miles below
Washington. owned By General Mason.
was noted fishery some three-q;larters
OF century ago. At this place. about
the year 1s25. at one draught Of the seine.
go FockIiSh were said to have been ia
Ken, the average weight OF each fish be-
ing sixty pounds 1t was then. and is
now, habit OF many species of fish to
annually ascend the Potomac and other
rivers that flow into the Atlantic to fresh
water to deposit their eggs. thus pro-
vidiDg at the same time for the continu-
ance OF their species and an abundant
supply OF nutritious food for man. The
principal kinds of these migratory fish
thus ascending the Potomac We're and
are, the shad. herring. and sturgeon. the
first two kinds ascending the rivers to
lott
making two visits, one in May and the
other in August. The sturgeon is said
20 have been in the early days taken in
great quantities between Georgetown and
the Little Fails. The fish is sometimes Of
4 very large size. weighing from 80 10 159
pounds. One remarkable fact about this
member of the piscatOriaf family. ac-
cording to the early writer's, was that
while it was considered q great delicacy
in the James the Potomac. and the Hud-
son, yet in the Della ware il was esteem
caught with floating nets with large
mcshes, or With an ingeniOasly cOntrived
nook not provided with bait for the fish
to swallow. but with curious device
prepared in such way as to pierce him
in the body So deeply as TO securely hold
him and bring him in.
The great fisheries for herring in ear
Her days. We're situated between Wash
inSton and the mouth of Aqua Greek.
fifty miles below the city The principal
fisheries FOR Shad were confined to yet
-
Ocoquan River on the right bank of the
Potomac and the shores Just above Fort
Washington ON the left bank: or from
fifteen TO thirty-fiVe miles below Wash
ington. Many herring. indeed. are caught
above and below these limits at the pres
ent time, but not nearly so many as
within them
Some of the finest shad are caught in
drop nets-two or three at a time-at the
foot of Little Fails On account Of its
remarkable agility the fish is sometimes
enabled to ascend the rapids. the fall OF
the water here being only about thirty
feet in three miles. and the fish having
surmounted the falls are then found as
far up the Great Falls.
Herring, however. never manage 30 get
above the Little Falls. OF this kind Of
nsh from 100 to 600 were often taken
at single haul OF the seine. and of shad.
according to some accounts. from 10 coo to
l50E0 were occasionally drawn at a time
The seiueS We're very large being from
500 to 200 yards long. and were hauled
IN by means OF long. stout ropes and cap
STAINS fixed on shore. The seines used at
the best shad landings were constructed
of such large meshes that the herring es-
caped. thus saving time and expense by
the two kinds of fish.
SHAD OF GREAT EXCELLENCE.
According to one Of the authorities OF
the Fish Commission. the Potomac has
always been celebrated for the exceuency
and value of its shad and herring fisher
only systematically been kept By the
Commission for the past several years,
but have been secured from the accounts
Of early authors. According to these
more or less traditional accounts, the
productions then. as compared with the
present. We're simply fabulous. The Po-
lomac fisheries annually decreased in val
ue and production up to the time Of the
war
The iutermissiou which then ensued in
Shiug opera tiOnS allowed the fisheries to
aEFrs.-s sfr h..
5tely subsequent to the war, it was
found that they had. ia a measure. re-
covered from their former depletion. In
S1S. the minimum of production was at
-ained during which season less than
20 on shad were taken in the entire river
n 1879 the result of the Fish Commits
sions artificial propaganda first mani
'-Sted itself, and since that time there
ias been a steady increase in the run of
had.
The early fisheries on the Potomac
we're prosecuted almost entirely by means
II haul nets, but in lS35 gill nets were
Introduced from the North, which steadi-
y grew in favor and up to about 1915
Xere almost exclusively employed. In
hat year. pound nets were introduced
nd these rapidly superseded the gill nets
IS the gill nets had previously supersed-
a the hauts or seineS.
THE YARN OF A VETERAN.
About June 10. 1855. an Atlantic salmon
vas caught in the Potomac. which was
probably the first that has ever been seen
"a the river. An amusing statement was
ateiy made by member OF the Oldest
Inhabitants Association at one or the
meetings of that society. The old gentle
nan asserted that he distinctly remem-
cred the time when one could walk
.cross the river at AnalCstan Island on
b. lacks OF the sturgeon. This SenSa-
fnnat observation created something Of
stir ia the meeting and brought down
.pon tho speaker much contradiction and