SHAD FISHERIES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST. 187 



Pamunkey River. — This river, which takes its name from a tribe of 

 Indians, the remnant of which is yet engaged in shad fishing in its 

 waters, is formed by the junction of the North Anna and South Anna 

 rivers a short distance above Hanover Court- House, whence it Hows 

 a distance of 100 miles to its union witli the Mattaponi at West Point. 

 It is navigable, during eight or nine months of the year, for vessels 

 drawing 5 or feet of water, as far as Wormley Landing, 54 miles above 

 West Point. Above Wormley Landing the river is tortuous, much 

 obstructed by logs and brush, and from 40 to 120 feet wide. Shad 

 ascend the Pamunkey in considerable numbers throughout its length, 

 but are taken in greatest abundance in the lower 30 miles. Of the 

 184,257 shad caught in 1896 180,(542 were taken by means of drift nets, 

 2,334 by seines, and 1,281 in stake nets. 



The drift nets are operated throughout a distance of 43 miles from 

 the mouth of the river, and principally for a distance of 10 miles below 

 and the same distance above Lester Manor, 24 miles from York Biver. 

 The drift nets below Williams Ferry average 150 yards in length, 55 

 to 70 meshes deep, with 4£ or 5 inch mesh. Above Williams Ferry the 

 length ranges from 130 to 75 yards and the depth from 50 to 35 meshes. 

 Below Williams Ferry two or three nets are carried by each boat, 

 requiring the services of two men. Above that point, where the lishing 

 is for local use exclusively, each boat has but one net, and in some 

 instances but one man. When more than two nets are used the extra 

 nets are old ones, which can bo used only during weak tide or slack 

 water. A total of 330 nets, 51,341 yards in length, were used by the 

 153 boats in 189G, the catch numbering 180,642 shad, for which the 

 fishermen received $14,911. Below White House the season begins 

 during the first week of March and closes some time in May, depeuding 

 on the run of fish and the market price. At some landings the stur- 

 geon fishery or agricultural operations shorten the season. Above 

 Williams Ferry the season begins during the third and fourth week of 

 March and closes about the 10th or 15th of May. 



Several rows of stake nets are set in the extreme lower end of the 

 Pamunkey during March and April. These are similar to the nets in 

 the upper portion of York Kiver, and their catch in 1896 was only 1,281 

 shad. There were two seines operating in this river during the past 

 year, one at Smith Ferry and the other at Sweet Hall, distant 21 and 

 24£ miles respectively from the mouth of the river. The former was 

 distinctively a shad seine, while the latter was used also for alewive*, 

 striped bass, etc. The yield of shad by the two seines was 2,334, of 

 which 1,490 were bucks. Very few were taken in the upper one of these 

 seines, it being shoal, and during the work of deepening it the shad 

 passed by. In the narrows of the Pamunkey, near Hanover Court- 

 House, there are several " hedgings," which take a few shad each year, 

 probably not exceeding 500. It does not appear that shad pass above 

 Hanover Court House in any considerable numbers, and probably none 

 are taken in South Anna and North Anna rivers. 



