Figure 7. — Bow nee used tor catching shad in southern 

 rivers. (Photograph counesy of North Carolina Wildlife 

 Resources Commission) 



Darien traveled by boat throughout the coastal 

 area and bought shad directly from the fisher- 

 men. Catches inthe inland area were purchased 

 by dealers from Jesup, Ga. Some fish were 

 marketed locally, but most of the catch was 

 shipped to northern markets. 



Fulton Lovell, Georgia State Game and Fish 

 Commission, stated (Press release, March 15, 

 1956. "Altamaha River: More Pollution"), "... 

 the shad catch in the Altamaha and tributaries 

 was approximately 150,000 lb. in 1951 and 

 1952, and this river usually accounts for about 

 65 percent of the State's catch." The Altamaha 

 River and its tributaries accounted for 67 per- 

 cent of the State's catch in I960 and 20 percent 

 in 1896. 



Ogeechee River 



The Ogeechee River rises in Greene County, 

 Ga., and flows southeast 350 miles to Ossabaw 

 Sound, south of Savannah, Ga. It is a meander- 

 ing stream, relatively free from silt and in- 

 dustrial effluents. The Canoochee River, its 

 only important tributary, enters the river 25 

 nniles above its mouth, but does not support 

 a shad run. 



In 1896 the Ogeechee ranked first among the 

 shad streams of Georgia. Practically all 

 commercial fishing was with drift gill nets in 

 the lower 22 miles of river. The nets were 

 67 to 200 yd. long and had 5 to 5 l/2-in. 

 stretched mesh. The catch was 208,753 lb. 

 Most fishermen were nonresidents of the river 

 basin, and many came from Savannah and 

 New England. Savannah was the principal 

 market for the catch. In the middle section 

 of the river, several small set gill nets and 

 bow nets took fish for local consumption, but 

 no information was available on the catch. 



The uppermost limit of shad in 1896 was the 

 Shoals of the Ogeechee, 200 miles from the 

 river mouth,' but few fish passed above Millen, 

 Ga., 100 miles from the sea. The Ogeechee 

 River was free of obstruction to fish passage, 

 and shad ascended the river 12 5 miles toMid- 

 ville, Ga. The major spawning area was between 

 MidvUle and Kings Ferry, Ga. (Sykes, 1956). 



In i960 drift gill nets were fished in the 

 coastal area and were interspersed with set 

 gill nets in the inland area. In the coastal 

 area, drift gill nets were operated from the 

 river mouth to the Atlantic Coast Line Rail- 

 road Bridge 1 mile below Kings Ferry. These 

 nets were 75 to 150 yd. long and 35 to 50 

 meshes deep and had 5- to 5 l/2-in. mesh. 

 The number of nets fished was 27, the total 

 length was 1,994 yd., and the shad catch was 

 31,860 lb. In the inland area, 200 set gill nets 

 were used from the junction of the Canoochee 

 and Ogeechee Rivers upstream to the vicinity 

 of Midville. The set nets in the inland area 

 were 25 to 100 yd. long and 35 to 65 meshes 

 deep and had 5- to 5 l/2-in. mesh. Aggregate 

 length of these nets was 3,450 yd., and the 

 shad catch was 13,780 lb. The drift nets were 

 20 to 50 yd. long and 35 to 45 meshes deep 

 and had 5- to 5 l/4-in. mesh. Total length was 

 516 yd., and the shad catch was 2,023 lb. 



During the I960 season gill net fishing be- 

 gan in mid- January, but fish did not appear 

 in substantial numbers until the first week of 

 February. Catches were good until the second 

 week in March, when temperatures increased 

 and gars, Lepisosteus spp., appeared in large 

 numbers. Damage to nets by these fish forced 

 most netters to discontinue fishing. The nunn- 

 ber of days fished by coastal drift gill nets 

 ranged fron-i 4 to 33; by inland drift gill nets, 

 from 6 to 18; and by the inland set gill nets, 

 from 9 to 48. 



Sport fishermen took shad between Kings 

 Ferry and Midville from mid- March until the 

 end of May with artificial lures trolled from 

 boats and attached to setlines. During this 

 period, an estimated 1,666 rod-and-reel fish- 

 ermen and 12 setline operators caught 7, 156 lb. 

 of shad. 



The commercial catch in I960 decreased 

 about 77 percent from that in 1896. 



Savannah River 



The Savannah River, one of Georgia' s largest 

 streams, is formed by the union of the Tugaloo 

 and Seneca Rivers at Anderson, S.C. It forms 

 the boundary between Georgia and South Caro- 

 lina for 325 miles and empties into the ocean 

 a short distance below Savannah. 



In 1896 the limit of the shad run in the Sa- 

 vannah River was Augusta Dam, 207 miles 

 from the coast. A few fish passed through the 

 sluices of the dam and were occasionally taken 



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