308 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
A fyke net with curved wings like those of a pound is used in Queen Anne and 
other counties on the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay, and is illustrated in plate 
lxxvi, fig. 2. A net thus constructed is often considerably larger than the kind with 
straight wings used in the same region. The hoops, four or five in number, have two 
funnels. The entrance hoop is 4 to 9 feet in diameter. The bag or pocket is 15 to 20 
feet long. The hedging is from 40 to 100 yards in length. The “ forebays” are from 
5 to 30 yards long. The average value of such nets is about $15, although many, con- 
structed of old twine and set in shallow water, cost only $8 or $10. In some localities, 
as, for instance, the Chester River, nearly all the fykes employed are of this class. 
The fyke net illustrated in plate lxxvi, fig. 1, characterized by angular wings, is 
the form commonly in use in the Great Lake region, where various sizes are employed. 
The length of the fyke proper, here called the “ bowl” or “ pot,” varies from 10 to 20 
feet; the first hoop is from 3 to 8 feet in diameter; the leader, with a mesh of 2 or 24 
inches, bar measure, is 150 to 400 feet long; the wings or hearts contain from 20 to 90 
feet of netting with a 14- or 2-inch mesh; the value is from $15 to $50. Such nets are 
often fished under the ice. All the fish common to the lake waters are caught. In 
Saginaw Bay and River, Michigan, where a large number of these nets are fished, 
they are known as “ gobblers.” 
A modification of this fyke is used at Sandusky and elsewhere in the Great Lakes. 
The plan and elevation are shown in plate lxxvii, figs. 1 and 2. Between the bowl or 
pound part of the net and the fyke proper there is a section known as the tunnel, which 
comes to the surface at the point where it joins the bowl. The net is usually set in 12 
to 15 feet of water. The barrel of the net is square, and its size is usually 4 by 15 
feet. The dimensions of this style of net are given in the figure. 
The largest and most elaborate of the ‘‘pound” fykes, which is represented in 
plate lxxviii, is, so far as known, confined to Monmouth County, 1ST. J., where it is 
used in the Raritan River, Sandy Hook Bay at Port Monmouth, and elsewhere within 
Sandy Hook. Briefly described, it is a modern pound net, having leader and hearts, 
with an ordinary five-hoop fyke taking the place of the pocket. The style shown 
in the figure is used at Port Monmouth, and presents the following features : 
The leader is 170 feet long, and is supported by stakes driven at distances of 10 
feet. The outer heart has gently curving sides, 52 feet long, with stakes at intervals 
of 10 feet, except at the ends, where there are two poles 6 feet apart. A supplement- 
ary piece of netting 10 feet long, on either side of the entrance of the outer heart, 
serves the purpose of a wing. The distance between the end of the leader and the 
first pole of the heart on either side is 5 feet. The outer heart projects a distance of 
6 feet into the inclosure of the inner, an interval of 2 feet being left between the ends 
of the two sides. The inner heart is formed by the projecting ends of the outer com- 
partment and two 10-foot pieces of netting on either side, joining each other at right 
angles, the inner section on each side being connected with the first hoop of the fyke 
by means of a special piece of netting 6 feet long, known as an apron. The first hoop 
is 44 feet in diameter ; the others, four in number, are 4 feet wide. An interval of 24 
feet separates the first and second and the second and third hoops, while the third 
and fourth and the fourth and fifth hoops are 4 feet apart. The final segment, called the 
tail, is about 3 feet long, and is attached by a rope to a stake by means of which the 
net is kept extended. A funnel extends from the first to the third hoop and is attached 
to the latter by means of radiating cords; a second funnel passes from the fourth 
to the fifth hoop. 
