Pee Dee River and Tributaries .-- The main 

 tributary of the Pee Dee River system, Great 

 Pee Dee, rises on the eastern slopes of the 

 Blue Ridge, in Watauga County, N.C. It flows 

 496 miles--272 miles in North Carolina and 

 224 n-iiles in South Carolina- -before it enters 

 Winyah Bay. In both 1896 and 1960, fish as- 

 cended the river to Blewett Falls Dam, 230 

 miles from the river mouth at Georgetown. 

 Fron-i Blewett Falls Dam downstream to 

 Cheraw, S.C., 26 miles, the river bed is rocky, 

 and shad ascended this section of the river 

 only during high flow. For this report, the 

 fishery was divided into three sections: Pee 

 Dee River, Great and Little Pee Dee Rivers, 

 and Lynches River. 



Pee Dee River.-- This river is formed by 

 the confluence of the Great and Little Pee 

 Dee Rivers, 42 miles above the mouth. It is 

 150 to 300 ft. wide, the banks are low and 

 swampy, and the lower 25 miles, from the 

 junction of Bull Creek to Winyah Bay, are 

 composed of a series of small creeks and 

 ponds. Four anchor gill nets, 65 to 85 yd. long 

 and 25 to 40 nneshes deep, fished in this sec- 

 tion during I960 caught 881 pounds of shad. 

 No shad were reported taken in this river in 

 1896. 



Great and Little Pee Dee Rivers. --In 1896 

 shad were taken throughout the Great Pee Dee 

 to Cheraw with drift gill nets, seines, bow 

 nets, and fish wheels, but in no great abun- 

 dance at any one point. The catch by all gears 

 was 49,946 lb., of which bow nets took 75 

 percent. In the river between Cheraw and the 

 Narrows, 71 miles, 16 fish wheel and fall-trap 

 fisheries originally were constructed for 

 catching shad; in 1896, however, the total yield 

 was only 2,500 lb. 



The Great Pee Dee, from the mouth to 

 Cheraw, has a more definite channel and is 

 better suited for net fishing than the lower 

 25 miles of the Pee Dee River. During the 

 i960 season shad were taken by anchor and 

 set gill nets, drift gill nets, bow nets, and 

 haul seines. Frona the mouth to Gresham, 

 S.C., 13 anchor gill nets, 75 drift gill nets, 

 25 bow nets, and 1 haul seine were fished. 

 From Gresham to Pan-iplico, S.C., 2 anchor 

 gill nets, 30 drift gill nets, and 10 bow nets 

 were fished. Between Pamlico and Cheraw, 

 there was limited fishing by 20 drift gill nets. 

 From Cheraw to Blewett Falls Dam, 200 set 

 gill nets were fished (concentrated near Rock- 

 ingham, N.C). Anchor and set nets ranged 

 from 10 to 40 yd. long and 25 to 45 meshes 

 deep, and drift nets ranged from 25 to 100 yd. 

 long and 35 to 45 meshes deep. The haul seine 

 was 50 yd. long and was fished near Smith 

 Mill at the mouth of the Lynches River. The 

 estimated catch by all gears was 37,191 lb., 

 of which gill nets took 96 percent. Most of the 

 catch was sold to local markets in towns along 

 the river. 



The Little Pee Dee River rises in southern 

 North Carolina and flows 75 miles before 

 joining the Great Pee Dee, 56 miles above the 

 mouth of the Pee Dee River. During the I960 

 season 10 set gill nets fished in the lower 2 

 nniles of river caught 440 lb. of shad. No shad 

 were caught in this stream in 1896. 



Lynches River.-- The Lynches River rises 

 in Union County, N.C, and flows 200 miles 

 before entering the Great Pee Dee 86 miles 

 above Georgetown. 



In 1896 the Lynches River was well adapted 

 to shad, which ascended as far as Tillery 

 Ferry, 125 miles above the mouth. Only bow 

 nets were fished, and since there were no 

 large settlements on the river, the local fish- 

 eries were small. The total catch was 3,755 lb. 



The river was free of obstructions in I960, 

 and shad ascended to at least 5 nailes above 

 Effingham, S.C., 45 miles fronn the mouth of 

 the tributary. Ripe females in the catch in- 

 dicated that the major spawning ground was 

 near the Highway 378 bridge between Lake 

 City and Hannah, S.C 



The total catch in I960 was 29,603 lb., of 

 which set gill nets caught 59 percent, bow 

 nets (fig. 9) 20 percent, and subnnerged traps 

 the remainder (table 18). 



Set gill nets, 8 to 25 yd. long and 25 to 35 

 meshes deep, were fished 10 miles fronn the 

 stream mouth to the vicinity of Johnsonville, 

 S.C. Bow nets were fished throughout the 

 shad range. 



Black River.-- The Black River has its 

 source in Kershaw and Sumter Counties, S.C, 

 and flows 150 miles before entering Winyah 

 Bay near Georgetown. 



Figure 9. — Landing a shad by bow net. When the fisherman 

 feels a fish hit the net, he raises the net with a twisting 

 motion, trapping the fish. (Photograph courtesy of North 

 Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission) 



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