Smyrna times. [volume] (Smyrna, Del.) 1854-1987, 1919-03-12
RFlOY TO CAST SHAO NETS
FOR PROFITABLE SEASON
,,cuERMEN OF BOMBAY HOOK
AND BAYSIDE TO TRY LUCK
r.o,bsome Shad Will be Running on
Advanced Schedule-Industry To-
. dav Compared With Years Ago


Esbermen of Bombay Hook and v
Do,,side as we'll as all fishermen of
40 lower Delaware river and bay {
Ill east their nets for shad this week !
= the expectation that the shad and
tbe weather are running together on
~ advanced schedule. A few of the
crows wet their nets last week on the
,bonce of being the first to land a
chad. but they did not have any luck.
tbo first drift was made by the White
coll brothers, of Bayside, N. j. Cap
tains of the shad fishing crews at Bay
side and the other fishing hamlets
along the bay and river are anxious to
opt their boats to working, as it is
costing them lot to feed their men.
There have been few idle hours for
tbe fishermen, as they have been busy
Ovorhauling their boats and equip |
ment. some of which has not been used
for three or four years and has re-
mired considerable repairing, espe-
ciallv the nets. AS soon as the first
sbad is caught there will be rush of
fishermen from the river-front towns
to the bay.
Comparatively Small latch Last Year
Because of the earlier season, the
fishing crews are hoping for bigger
run of ghad than in recent years. Last
spring there were only $4,000 caught
in the Delaware bay for the whole sea-
son. while twenty or thirty years ago
catch of 100000 of these fish was
pothing unusual. There is no prospect
Of shad being cheap this year. All
other fish are high in price and the
eyer-popular shad is expected to hold
the lead in the markets this year. The
consumer will buy his shad by the
pound, instead of by the fish this year.
This practice was begun at the fishing
grounds last year and with the shac
50 scarce and high it is likely to stick
It is predicted that fresh Delaware
river roe shad will bring close to s.
apiece at the opening of the season
with a gradual fall in price as the!
become more plentiful.
Prolific Industry a Few Years Ago.
Several years ago there were owe
25,OOO shad one day at New Castle
and the price fell to SO a hundred TO
melts. In those days hundreds
dealers from Delaware, Chester an
Lancaster county, Pa, used to dr1N
to New Castle to buy shad, and
high as $50 wagons were often wal
ing for the boats to come in on Mo-
day morning. Then the farme
would 90 to the Delaware street VIVA
and buy shad to salt down for w1nt
use. Men were at the wharf w
would clean, scale and behead t
shad for a cent each. Then the sa
ing process was easy after that.
Delaware City and Port Penn Actl'
The same scene, though not on su
a large scale, was a frequent
Delaware City and Port Penn. Ii
at New Castle the men in the lat
mentioned river towns are preparl
for the shad season. Many OF Tn
will fish a combination net, half n
net and half a one from last year
the year before, as the Irvine IN
nets are made usually of the :
hemp. The dredging of the Delaw
river a few years ago, as well as
pollution by plants'along the rlver'
pecially at Marcus Hook, cause
scarcity of shad. Last year onl'
very few boats fished, and the
shad sold from 81 to $2.'5 a :
while in former years such fish G.
be bought at half price, and, at I'll
for less than that.
Delaware Shad Famous EveryWr
Delawareans in nearly every
in the country usually prize the L
ware shad as a rare treat. 1t W
custom to box and ice a PAL
beauties" and express them 10
fOrnia, Texas, Minnesota or Nom
to Delawareans, who had left
native land and gone to try their
tunes elsewhere. Sunday fishing
years has been prohibited, and
many years a patrolman was kel
the river by the State to see ina
law was enforced and that no
went overheard before IL o'cloC
Sunday night.
Deeper Canal Will Improve FIST
Shad fishermen in discussing
purchase and deepening Of the I
peake and Delaware Canal are
opinion that large numbers o