The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1910-05-13
IS THE SHAD DOOMED !?
Fisherman Say It Will Soon Be Ex-
tlnct IN The Susquehanna.


MCCALL FERRY DAM THE CAUSE.
The Baltimore Sun of Sunday 9Th
inst, printed a cut of the sbarrier
across the Snsquehanna river at
McCall's Ferry, the immense
power plant dam, that is driving
the shad away, and contained in
terviews with several fishermen OF
that section, all of whom declared
it was impossible for the shad to
get above the dam and as q conse-
quence shad fishing at McCall's and
above was virtually a thing of the
past. Following is an extract from
the article:
"Shad fishing is a thing of the
past on the Susqnehanna from here
north,'' said C. F. Quade, pro-
prietor of the McCall's Ferry
Hotel, who knows as much about
the subject as any man along the
river. Here are facts and theories
of the situation, as Mr.. Qnade
puts them:
NN "The shad is fish of strange
h4bits. I suppose since the begin
ming they have been coming up
the Susqnehanna, as they have up
other rivers, to spawn They
usually begin coming along here
about March 20, and / have seen
them going up the river in shoals
as late as July A, although general
" they stop sooner. The young
fish that have been Matched during
the late spring and early summer,
60 down the river, headed for the
sea, in September.
ssIt is a wonderful sight-these
millions and millions of old fish
going up the river in the spring,
and millions and millions Of little
fellows going down in the early fall.
The water seems literally alive
with them. / have seen old fish
jumping on the backs of others
and apparently trying to climb over
those In front in their eagerness to
get up stream.
Now, the menace or, rather,
the irreparabIe damage to Sus.
quehanna shad fishing by the dam
that closes the river is in this:
The fish cannot get by the barrier
to reach their spawning ground.
"When a shad gets old enough
to spawn when it is three years
old, il other words it will 60 back
to the place where it came into
being. No one knows why this is
so; why one spawning place is not
as acceptable as another. Shad
Matched at the headwaters Of the
Susqnehanna will come back here
to propagate their species. Those
Matched in the Delaware, the Hud-
son, the Potomac, or any other
river, will 60 back invariably, to
those places when their time to
spawn comes.
s'Shad Matched in different places
are different, too, in their physical
make, up; / can determine by sim.
ply feeling them whether fish come
from the Susquehanna, the Della.
ware or the Hudson. The Della.
ware shad is shorter and thicker
dumpier and the Hudson fish is
longer and seems bonier to the
touch than those from our waters.
"When shad gets ready to
spawn it hunts fresh water, and
the further up a river it can get the
better it is satisfied. And the
higher up the river yon catch them
the better In flavor they are; that
means that a stay in fresh water
improves them.
"This year shad coming mp the
river. heading for the spawning
grounds as far up as Williamsport
and beyond, run jam up against
this dam, and they can't pass it.
Ihave seen them making desperate
attempts to get by this strange and
impossible obstacle; in fact, I have
seen them stun and even kill them.
selves against it, z
Not one, so far as I have heard,
and I have inquired of many fisher
men from above, has been found in
the river above the dam this year.
In fact, large number of p-river
fishermen have come down here to
locate for the season. They build
shacks and live in tents along the
shore. They have done very poor.
" so far.
'sNow if the river is closed so
that the fish cannot get to the
higher waters to spawn, they will
quit coming here, in my opinion.
They will not come where they can
not spawn and they will not spawn