184 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



In the falls at Richmond there are numerous finger or fall traps, m 

 which several hundred shad are taken annually while eudeavoring to 

 pass above the rapids. At one time the number of these fall traps 

 exceeded 150, but the catch has been so small during recent years that 

 the worn-out traps have not been replaced. 



Chickahominy River. — The Chickahominy, one of the finest shad 

 streams of the United States for its size, rises in Henrico County, 

 12 miles northwest of Richmond, and after flowing a distance of 60 

 miles empties into James River 50 miles from the Chesapeake Bay. 

 Windsor Shades bar, 27 miles from its mouth, is the present head 

 of navigation, a minimum depth of 8 feet existing to that point, 

 the width of the channel ranging from 100 to 250 yards. Thence to 

 Providence Forge, a distance of 5 miles, the channel is tortuous, 20 to 

 80 feet in width, flowing between low swampy banks, which open into 

 lagoons or bays of wide water. From Providence Forge to Long 

 Bridge, about 10 miles, the Chickahominy is a cypress swamp of from 

 one-half to 1 mile in width, intersected by a channel 20 to 50 feet wide. 

 Shad fisheries extend throughout the length of the Chickahominy, yet 

 they are most extensive in the vicinity of Lanexa. The total catch of 

 shad on this river in 1896 was 150,953, of which 131,643 were taken by 

 means of drift nets, 17,510 by seines, and 1,800 by "hedgings." Of the 

 totalyield 103,748, or 68 per cent, were bucks. 



In the lower portion of the Chickahominy and in the vicinity of 

 Lanexa the drift nets contain each about 5£ pounds of JSTo. 50 twine, 

 55 to 60 meshes deep, with 5-inch mesh. From Winns Landing to 

 Providence Forge the nets contain from 1£ to 2 pounds of twine, 45 

 meshes deep, with 4^-inch mesh. The length of the 5J-pound net aver- 

 ages 200 yards, and of the lf-pound net 70 yards. The length of twine 

 used by the 160 boats in 1896 measured 28,842 yards, one man being 

 required for each boat. The season began about March 10 and closed 

 some time near the middle of May. The yield was an average of recent 

 years, aggregating 131,643 in number, of which 40,777 were roes and 

 90,866 were bucks. Eight seines were used in the Chickahominy during 

 the same year, of which the largest, about 1,000 yards in length, was 

 operated at Ferry Point, near the mouth of the river. This seine, how- 

 ever, is not used especially for taking shad, that species forming only 

 a small proportion of the total catch. The lengths of the other seven 

 seines range from 260 to 175 yards and the mesh from If to 2£ inches. 

 The aggregate value of the 8 seines was $1,155, the number of men 

 employed 43, while the total catch of shad numbered 17,510, worth 

 $1,297 at the local valuation. 



A short distance above Providence Forge, where the river is only a few 

 feet in width, there are three or four hedges or pockets, each consisting 

 of a crude dam, 2 or 3 feet high, permitting the passage of shad only 

 through the current passing through an opening therein. A fisherman 

 stands at this opening with a net in hand ready to lift out such fish as 

 may attempt the passage. At the hedges operated in 1896 1,800 shad 



