The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-04-12

sunset, when the Wind-god naS cOu-
 manded the waters to be still and a
 mirage exists. for miles painting hills
 and wales, trees, vari-formed clouds
 and newborn stars in the surface Of
 the placid waters-this presents a
 condition that inStillS poetry into the
 labor, lifting it out of the sordid and
 strictly materialistic. And when the
 canopy of darkness is finally stretch
 ed over the heavenly globe, and while
 the fishermen are drifting calmly
 down the river on a good strong "ebb
 tide,'' when the various nocturnal
 mingled with the singing and shout
 ings of the fishermen, transforming
 the natural stiffness of the night into
 a sort of informal jubilee-these are
 factors that lend enchantment to the
 pursuit. This, too, is a time when
 some great old stories float out from
 the lips of the fishermen and circle
 heavenward. Those statements that
 should be rejected are left to the good
 Judgment of a higher power-for the fishermen would sometimes ; awfuIly
 hate to pass on the authenticity of brother fisherman, specially when re- lating to former catches of toothsome
 succulents.
 Strenuous Work.
 To listen to an old fisherman, clev- CT in the use of the tongue, as he re-
 lates the most thrilling of his adven- lures that have been woven into his many years career of fishing cannot but engage the closest attention Of an
 appreciative ear. The unsophisticat-
 ed should not harbor the idea that the life of a Connecticut river shad fisherman is a continuous journey on easy street. The way is filled with many obstacles, great and small, that
 must be overcome, if success shah follow. It is strenuous work while it
 lasts. If pursued by a drone, in his little way, results will be dealt out
 to him accordingly. Heavy winds and beating rains do not daunt the deter
 imitation of true fisherman. for of- tentAnes when these weather condi- tions prevail there is a big rum Of shad.
 After the nights catch the fisher longer banking out' net and pack ing their shad for shipment chiefly to New York and Hartford markets. While the latter work is in progress | there are generally a good1y number | of spectators about to see how ''luck runs" The fish are carefully pack ed in cracked ice, and not little of the latter is used during a, seasons 1 fishing.
 In the Ol6en Days.
 Fishing conditions are now radical ! ly different from those in years pasr. 1 Up to twenty or thirty wears ago the | banks of the Connecticut river were dotted with fish houses. At these points a gang of men were employed, beginning very early in the season. Besides shad, other kinds of smaller | fish were caught. Seines were used instead of gillnetS and there were | many great catches in the Connecti- cut and its tributaries From four | to eight or ten men were employed | remaining at their posts, for the most | part, throughout the season. Gala l times there used to be among the l frolicsome gentry, and they were no; l inclined to be over-lenient with one | of the number who perchance might | the cook was the favorfte target at
 whom the crowd aimed their good-na-
 tured jokes. Present day fishermen | like to indulge in reveries over the l smoking bowl and invariab bly old fish, | place scenes and doings will form a prominent part of their talk h. l deed, they were halycon days
 Old Fish-Places.
 1 When the fish-place industry. was at it's height, the lower part of the
 river was virtually filled with these
 stations. The Light House was the
 name of the first, beginning at the mouth of the river, after which came
 the Paving Stone, Folly. Old Fort
 Parsonage, Washington. Independent Federal, Jamaica, Skunk Hole, Ferry
 Point, Newfoundland, Santa Cruz | Griswold's Pier. Gibraltar, Sodom | Calves Island (two), Goose Island | Ely Meadows (three) Knott's Island | (two), Jackson's Pier, Muskrat, Den l nison's, Pettipog, all of which were l between Saybrook Point and the vii