Evening journal., 1902-05-13
DELAWARE SHAD FISHERMEN
CATCH FEW FISH BUT LOSE NETS

gan 10 lay out hand-oyer- hand. The
net, which lay in what appeared to bel
a tangled mass in the stern OF the
boat. ran through his hands as if it'll
was a carefully curled rope. The dObs,
landsman would call them corks,
are about two and a half fathoms
apart, and, as the man laid out, were
thrown to the left All the time Smith
was rowing further out in the stream
and Irons was laying out faster and
faster. Finally he came to tear in
the net and signed for Smith to stop.
That is where a Baltimore Traction
Company struck me last night" he
SAID. as he tied the broken net to-
gether.
He meant that an Ericsson liner had
cut his net on Friday night.
Finally the net was out. The buoy
could hardly be seen, and the dobs
were riding the water like so many
ducks. When asked how far the dobs
were apart, Smith gave the informa-
ton that the distance was about "twen-
four ties" Eight pounds of lead are
used to every one hundred fathoms of
net
While THE boat lay drifting north
with THE tide, the fishermen discussed
the fishing season, and the why's and
wherefores for the failure. Both
agreed il was a bad season.
This time last season" said Smith,
Il had 400 fish; while this year / have
only got 424."
Yes said Irons. this season is on
the bum. In one day last year l got
412 My highest this year is 1O4"
He and Smith then started a discus
sion as to the cause of the scarcity OF
slhad Irons said it was because the
Government neglected the Matching.
During the Spanish-American war the
boats usually engaged in Fish Commits
sion service were engaged elsewhere.
Little was done at the hatchery at
Gloucester. He said it was well es-
tablisIhed fact that fish always come
back to spawn to the place where they
are put in the water. AS few were
matched here, there were few to come
back.
Many Nets Destroyed
The conversation then turned to
nets. 1--WE used to make all our own
nets" said Irons, but now they are
knit by the twine companies"
More nets have been lost this year
than ever before" added Smith.
Tod Conner lost more in one night
recently than were lost in ten years
before.
"Finn's Point ietty is the cause Of It.
1t has formed a bar, where old wreck
age lodges. The nets catch on this
and are torn to pieces. We used to
fish 500 fathoms to Delaware City, and
never left a mesh. We can't do it
now"
After a lot more of hard luck talk
it was decided to lift the net. One af-
ter the other the fish were lifted into
the boat. AS they were held up fast
in the meshes of the net, they differed
greatly in appearance from the shad
exposed for sale here. The scales
sparkled like diamonds, and every
color in the rainbow was reflected in
them. When thrown i'm the bottom OF
the boat they would flap their tails a
few times, open their mouths as ii
gasping for breath. and then die They
| lived a very short time after being
taken from the water Several came
near getting out Of THE net as 1t was
lhauled in by Irons. Smith watched the
work, and after one had almost es-
capped. remarked: when they come NJ
tail first you have to look out"
After the net had been pulled in II
was found that but, twenty fish hat
been caught BY this time the boa
had drifted some distance above New
lCastle. The sail was set and the skif
was soon slzimming Through the waite,
toward home.
Whirlwind Overturned Boat
The most thrilling event Of the da,
was yet to come. The wind was com
] ing off short in little puffs, and Iron
: remarked: Those are the thing
, which make you turn your toes up.
He had hardly finished speaking wlhei
sort OF whirlwind struck the boat
r He let go the line to the sheet, ant
: no damage was done. A boat some dis
lance away. manned by Charles Ped
I rick and James Wood, did not fare 81
3, well. 1t was overturned. 1t was al
+, done in less than half the time it take
= to tell IL. Pedrick clambered up Of
q the side and pulled Wood after him
The former would not have been we
had he not let one leg slide into tn
water in rescuing his companion
Hold on We are coming" shoute
Irons and Smith, and in a few second
: the said was furled and the two fish
! ermen were rowing for dear life to tn
= rescue of the two fishermen perched o
= the bottom of the boat. They did nc
, look unlike two frogs. Both wer
staken off in safety.
The first thing Wood said when h
k The stepped into Irons boat was:
" d. it, there goes twenty-one shad.
l. "Never mind the shad. You ougI
o to be glad you are safe" said one {
2 the rescuers.
e "Well, it's a days wages" was til
n reply. By this time several boats froi
l. New Castle had arrived. The boat w
ID turned right side up and the loatir
in buoys. nets and oars secured and Il
rs boat bailed out. Strange to say a
D. the fish were still in the boat
er speaking Of the rescue Irons salt
v THAT is part Of our business. 1t Oft
d. happens.
lg After reaching New Castle the fl
a were sent to the fish house and the n
put on the rack. This took abo
as three hours. The fishermen then we