330 
BULLETIN OE THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
County, for instance. When a leader is used it is commonly called “hedging,” and 
the curved wings are usually designated “bays,” or “fore bays,” in allusion to the 
corresponding parts of a pound net. 
Among the simplest fykes used in Maryland are those called drop fykes, perch 
fykes, and eel fykes. Drop fykes are named in allusion to the practice of dropping 
them from the side of a boat and buoying them like a lobster pot, instead of staking 
them, as is done with the more elaborate nets. Perch and eel fykes are so- called 
because of the principal fish taken in them. 
Drop fykes, such as are used in Cecil County, are worth from $1 to $2 each ; they 
are 3 feet across the mouth, have 5 hoops and 2 funnels, and take yellow perch (called 
“ yellow neds”), catfish, pike, suckers, eels, and a few flounders. Each net is weighted 
with a stone, and has a bridle which is buoyed by a cork ; it is left down for a day or 
two and then pulled up by the bridle to be relieved of the fish. The season extends 
from February 1 to May 30 and from September 15 to December 15. 
In Cecil County a form of net called a “perch fyke” is principally set for white 
perch and yellow perch, but also takes catfish, pike, and eels. It is usually provided 
with an arched entrance, instead of a circular one, and has a 2-foot opening, 4 or 5 
hoops, and 2 or 3 funnels; the length of the net is 5 feet. The value is $1 to $3. 
In some places they are set only at intervals during the year, but in others they are 
fished the year round, being left under the ice in winter and tended through holes cut 
in the ice. They are often set in strings containiug 25 or 30 nets at intervals of 25 
feet; each net is kept in position by a stone weighing about 3 pounds. Perch fykes 
are also known as “gumbo fykes,” or “jumbo fykes.” 
A form of fyke set especially for eels, and called an “eel fyke,” is employed in 
some numbers in Cecil County. Catfish constitute a prominent part of the catch, for 
which reason the net is known in places as a “cattie fyke.” The net consists of 4 or 
5 hoops, usually has 2 funnels, but sometimes 3, and is 2£ to 5 feet long; the mesh is 2£ 
inches stretch measure ; the material used is No. 9 cotton twine; the entrance, which 
is bowed, is 12 inches high and 18 inches wide. The eel fyke is fished mostly in spring 
and fall. It isbaited with suckers (called “mullet”) and menhaden (called “ bugfish”). 
One of the simplest fykes met with is used in Dorchester and other counties on 
the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay. It consists of three hoops, 8, 6, and 4 feet in 
diameter, with a funnel extending from the first and second hoops. The hoops are 
about 6 feet apart, so that the fyke proper is about 18 feet long. It is provided with 
two wings, each from 30 to 60 feet long. Terrapin, striped bass, and perch are taken. 
A similar net, observed on the Nanticoke River, has wings only 18 feet long and is 
there called a “ sink net”; it is fished under the ice in winter and catches principally 
striped bass and perch. A form of fyke (plate lxxiii, fig. 2) made on this prin- 
ciple, but with a funnel in each hoop, is used in Fishing Bay, where it is known as 
a “buekdart,” and is set wholly for terrapin. Such nets are valued at $10 to $25 
each. They are placed in a creek or cove so that the wings reach the shores. The 
season begins April 1 and ends June 1, and reopens September 1 and continues till 
November 1. In 1887 13 such fykes set on Taylor Island took $500 worth of terrapin, 
which sold for $20 a dozen. Crabs also are caught, but are usually not saved. Con- 
siderable quantities of wild ducks are sometimes secured and add to the income of the 
fishermen. 
Perhaps the most elaborate style of fyke net used in this State is shown in plate 
lxxix, fig. 2. It is employed in Dorchester, Wicomico, and other counties and in some 
