Table l.--Area, type of fishing, location of fishing grounds, and fishing season; 

 shad sport fishery, Connecticut River, 1957 and 1958. 



(See figure 1 for location of fishing areas. ) 



The water holding controls of dams 

 located on the river cause daily fluctua- 

 tions in water levels. The Enfield Dam 

 forms a partial obstruction to fish pas- 

 sage at time of low water. A dami on the 

 Farmington River at Poquonock, Conn, 

 limits shad to the lower 5 miles of the 

 river. Another dam at Holyoke, Mass., 

 built in 1848, prevented the passage of 

 fish beyond this point until 1955 when a 

 mechanical lift fishway was installed. Since 

 then several thousand shad have been 

 passed above the dam each year. The 

 effect this structure will have on the 

 fishery in future years is not known. 



CREEL CENSUS METHODS 



Basically, the creel census methods 

 employed consisted of observation and 

 direct contact of bank and bridge fisher- 

 men and a voluntary reporting card system 

 for boat fishermen. The sampling plan 

 was patterned after the 5 -day week check 

 used by Best and Boles (1956) on Rush 

 Creek and Castle Lake, Calif. During the 



1957 survey a 6-day week sampling sched- 

 ule was used, and during the 1958 census 

 a 5-day week schedule was adopted. 



Three biologists were assigned to 

 make the 6 -day week census during the 

 1957 season. All week ends and holidays 

 were canvassed, and the same week day 

 was not missed for 2 consecutive weeks. 

 Estimate of catch for a noncensus week 

 day was obtained by averaging census 

 results on the same day in the previous 

 and following week. Every day of the 

 first and last week of the fishing season 

 was canvassed in order to provide data 

 for averages used in estimating catch 

 for week days not checked during the 

 second week and next to last week of the 

 season. 



Emphasis was placed on the lower 

 river during the early part of the season, 

 and as the season progressed and fishing 

 shifted to upstream areas, assignments 

 for coverage were shifted accordingly. 

 Areas and time were allocated for con- 

 tacting fishermen during the time of 



