The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-01-10
CATCHING STURGEON.
WHAT SUCCESS 4 CONNECTICUT MAN HAS IN NoRTHER WATERS
\ Big Moose in the Water-The Meth
 cd of Fishing Much Different From
 That on the Connecticut.

H6CduS6 SLuTS69lI llU 1O4lSSl tAAieNpAb the Connecticut river to an extent to make their capture a paying industry as it was up to about ten years ago, one of the leading Connecticut river fishermen for ten years consecutively, except one year, has gone to war off waters. The fisherman is Eliot w. Ely of Hadlyme, and the waters that he has fished during this period are the Kennebec river and bay on the St. John river in New Brunswick, Can, For the past five kears the latter has been the place visited, and it is here that the following account pf MT. Ely s work relates. He returned home from New Brunswick about two weeks ago, having been there since the latter part of June.
 Mr. Ely does not enter into his work in the northern country un any small scale. He has four men, who fish for him and he controls the sale of the catches of about half of the nets along the river which number in all around twenty-five. Upon seeing the large number of fish caught by MT Ely's nets and the amount of busi- ness done, a friend of the latter from Hadlyme, who spent a month with him, gave expression to his obserya- lions by saying that The should think he were running a New York clearing house., MT. Ely puts up his own ice and does things in an lat home man. ner all the way through. "The large number of summer visitors, who come to Oak Point yearly think I am one of it's residents said the fisherman.
 The method of fishing is conducted in an altogether different manner on the bay from the way it is on the Connecticut. Here the river is drag ged" by means of the net drifting with the tide the same as the shad nets, but there the nets are anchored at suitable distance apart and each morning and night they are run over' to ascer- tain the catch instead of taking up as is required on the river here. Every ten days, however, they are taken up, all foul matter removed and then put back in the water.
 Eight sturgeon of "the old big fel- low type, weighing 300 pounds, were caught this season by MT, Ely while many which would tip the scales at $50 pounds were taken from their wa tery abodes. There is a great deal of waste to sturgeon, A 500- pounder will dress off only 200 pounds of meat and a 350-pounder, 135 pounds of meat, The percentage of caviare, obtained from the roe fish is small in com parison with the quaintity of meat secured. The meat this season brought 15 cents pound and the caviare 90 cents pound, which has been about standard price for several years. The caviare from all of the other nets on the river is bought each year by MT Ely. The later sells all of his fish in New York. It is carefully packed in barrels, wei iced, and ship ped from St. John by steamer to Bus ton, where it is transferred to rail for i New York. The time taken to reach its destination Is about two days and shipments are made twice week.
 The English government requires royalty on the new nets and MT. Ely's fees this year were $60
 For two or three years MT. Ely s 10-year-old son, Reginald has accom- panied him to New Brunswick and he enters into the fishing the same as the men. For the first few weeks upon arrival the fascination of the sport of catching small fish with hook and line, in company with his young friends usually demands his attention, but after this he g5es in for "big game.
 He can row q boat and "tend net equal to many men.
 It was three years ago that Mir Ely made a capture on the bay that was Iout of his usual line. While running across his nets early one morning, in company with helper he spied some object out near the center of the bay moving swiftly through the water and he at once directed his boat toward it. Having only one pair of oars, anC boat being of good size, he was unable
 to make rapid headway. After consid' erable time the object was overtaken
 however. and what was it? It was g large buck moose. In the boat was
 "a large quantity of drag-net rope ant
 MT. Ely by great dextertty managed to get this twirled about the legs oi
 the giant animal and tow him ashore
 He was then worked along by degrees to a barn located only a few feet iron
 the shore, where he was kept abou
 three hours with his leg still tied
 When the ropes were released and ht
 was allowed his freedom he trottee
 away toward the woods, as if he were
 nJt frightened in the least. The
 much fcundering that he had dont
 upon first being captured probably hat
 partially exhausted him. MT. Ely saiC
 that he broke the dragnet rope ir
 several places as easily, apparently, at
 if it were piece of cord and if thert
 had not been large quantity of it a
 hand so that it could be wound around
 many times, the animal would easil,
 have made his escape. As it was thu
 close season for the capture of the ani
 mals he could not be retained.-Hart
 ford Times.