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Fish?
Apr 15, 2019 10:31:16 GMT -7
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Post by brokennock on Apr 15, 2019 10:31:16 GMT -7
Just curious. I've seen threads and articles on the activity and gear of 18th century fishing, but nothing on the fish. Freshwater that is. Many grand tales of the cod fish and such, especially up here in New England. But what about fresh water? What swam and ate in the streams rivers and ponds of Colonial America, that was here before introductions of European plants and animals? I seem to recall reading somewhere that trout were introduced, but maybe that was just brown trout or rainbows, were brook trout already here? I'm going to assume most of our sunfish were here, yellow and white perch, bass, bluegill, crappie, and such. Catfish varieties are found all over the world so I'll assume at least one of ours was already here. Any period diary or journal entries mentioning and abundance of any particular species of fresh water fish?
Thanks, Dave
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Fish?
Apr 15, 2019 15:48:32 GMT -7
Post by Black Hand on Apr 15, 2019 15:48:32 GMT -7
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Keith
City-dweller
Bushfire close but safe now. Getting some good rain.
Posts: 990
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Post by Keith on Apr 15, 2019 16:52:57 GMT -7
Just curious. I've seen threads and articles on the activity and gear of 18th century fishing, but nothing on the fish. Freshwater that is. Many grand tales of the cod fish and such, especially up here in New England. But what about fresh water? What swam and ate in the streams rivers and ponds of Colonial America, that was here before introductions of European plants and animals? I seem to recall reading somewhere that trout were introduced, but maybe that was just brown trout or rainbows, were brook trout already here? I'm going to assume most of our sunfish were here, yellow and white perch, bass, bluegill, crappie, and such. Catfish varieties are found all over the world so I'll assume at least one of ours was already here. Any period diary or journal entries mentioning and abundance of any particular species of fresh water fish? Thanks, Dave “On the 17th day, we crossed the neck to the east branch of Susquehanah...At 11 we dressed our dinner and found an Indian by the river side, resting himself. All his provision was a dried eel; this he made us a present of, and we gave him a share of our dinner." John Bartram 1743. Fishing, however, was an important economic activity for many Connecticut families, who temporarily left their farms and trades to capitalize on the seasonal migrations of catadramous eels (fall), and anadromous fish such as shad and salmon (spring) that swam in the large rivers like the Connecticut, Thames and Housatonic and their tributaries. Fisherman also caught larger fish, like bluefish and striped bass, in large rivers and open water. From upland streams and ponds, small freshwater fish such as sunfish and sucker were caught. After a long winter, with food stores typically low, the early spring fish runs provided welcome opportunities to obtain fresh food before tilling and planting began. Farmers along the Quinebaug River knew that the shad would start running when the “shadwood” tree bloomed. For many of these small family-based ventures, fishing was not merely a subsistence-based activity; like their “country produce,” farmers hoped to sell their extra fish to local and distant markets. But to catch fish in great enough numbers for sale, equipment, salt, and cooperation were required.3 Ebenezer Story, who built a house on the east bank of the Thames River in Norwich (now Preston) in 1777, was one of these fishermen. CORIOLIS Volume 1, Number 1, 2010 Page 38 “Providence Brings to our Doors, the Delicious Treasures of the Sea”: Household Use of Maritime Resources in 18th-Century Connecticut Ross K. Harper
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Keith
City-dweller
Bushfire close but safe now. Getting some good rain.
Posts: 990
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Post by Keith on Apr 15, 2019 17:14:01 GMT -7
Fishing tackle from the Sprague Site. Lead line-sinker, lead net weight and fish hooks. CORIOLIS Volume 1, Number 1, 2010 Page 44
Eel bones (Order Anguilliformes), the principal species in the region being the American eel (Anguilla rostrata), were also found at the Sprague Site. Eels are unique in that unlike anadromous fish like shad and salmon that live in the sea and then run up fresh water streams to spawn, the eel is catadromous; that is, it lives in freshwater streams and migrates to the depths of the Atlantic to spawn. Eels and frostfish or tomcod (Microgadus tomcod) were also among the few fish species that were actively caught by the colonists in the winter. Eels were taken with hook and line, with spears, and in nets set up at stone weirs across rivers. Many of the fish weirs were likely built on the remnants of weirs that had previously been used by Native peoples since well before colonization began. While marching with the French Army through Connecticut in 1780 to assist America in the Revolutionary War, Major General François Jean de Beauvoir Marquis de Chastellux observed that the eel traps in the Quinebaug River consisted of dams in the shape of “projecting angles,” and where the points came together in the middle of the river, the fishermen “...place nets in the shape of a purse.” Eel were also caught in cylindrical pots woven from wood splints, like a basket, and baited with carrion. A funnel leading into the trap made it difficult for the eel to find its way out again. Eel were greatly esteemed for the table, evidently for all meals, for when traveling through southwestern Connecticut in 1786, a young London merchant named Robert Hunter, Jr. observed that “...it’s often the custom here to give you eels, beefsteaks, salt fish, etc., for breakfast- to ladies and to gentlemen.”14
The excavations at the Sprague homestead also discovered the bones of saltwater fish species, including those of flounder (Paralichthys spp.) and cod or hake (Order Gadiformes). This shows that despite living in an upland frontier town, the Spragues had access to maritime resources, and like families living on the coast and on tidal rivers, they enjoyed varieties of both freshwater and saltwater fish.
Keith.
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coot
City-dweller
Posts: 152
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Fish?
Apr 18, 2019 20:27:12 GMT -7
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Post by coot on Apr 18, 2019 20:27:12 GMT -7
Check the Mount Vernon website for some early descriptions. Shad, Herring and Rockfish were all common and plentiful. The annual Shad planking in Virginia is today a as much a state political gathering as it is a continuation of a colonial era tradition.
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Post by spence on Apr 19, 2019 10:09:32 GMT -7
The Pennsylvania Gazette
April 5, 1750
Annapolis, in Maryland February 7
"ON Monday morning last, in Middle River, in Baltimore county, was made as great a draught of Bass, or Rock fish, as ever was known. At one haul of the saine, which they drew under the ice, they caught near 1800 of them, and about one third of which measured 4 feet, or more,. and weighed from 40 to 50 pounds, and upwards. At a moderate computation, above 30,000 weight of fish were taken at one haul, many of which were brought down and sold here."
Spence
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Fish?
Apr 19, 2019 10:19:17 GMT -7
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Post by brokennock on Apr 19, 2019 10:19:17 GMT -7
Rejoice, Spence has arrived, rejoice.
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Fish?
Apr 19, 2019 10:21:49 GMT -7
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Post by brokennock on Apr 19, 2019 10:21:49 GMT -7
Thanks to all. I especially find Keith's posting interesting as I'm not only in Connecticut, but Sprague is an area I frequent throughout spring and summer. It's a little over an hour from home, but I shoot at a club down there, and fish the river whenever I get the chance.
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Fish?
Apr 20, 2019 5:54:31 GMT -7
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Post by spence on Apr 20, 2019 5:54:31 GMT -7
Journal of Mary Coburn Deweese, Nov. 8, 1788, on the Ohio River at Fort Pitt, waiting for the water to rise so they can begin their flatboat trip to Kentucky:
"Had several gentlemen to dine on board the Ark expecting a fire hunt of some deer which keep about 200 yards from our boat, on a very high hill but a Shower of rain in the night disappointed them, rendering the Brush and leaves to wet for that purpose, they passed the day in Squirrel hunting, and fishing for Pike, this being the season for them, I saw one to day weighting 30 weight, the Beautifulist fish I ever saw."
Spence
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Fish?
Apr 20, 2019 18:29:54 GMT -7
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Post by brokennock on Apr 20, 2019 18:29:54 GMT -7
Interesting. I usually think of pike as a more northern fish.
Caught a couple nice trout today myself. And yesterday my best hunting partner caught two 8 pound rainbow trout out of the river near his house.
Any mention of bullhead (aka hornpout regionally) in any of those records or reports? I like putting a few trout in the smoker, but look forward to the bullhead getting more active. Not an active fighter, but boy do they fry up nice.
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Fish?
May 19, 2019 8:00:38 GMT -7
Post by Sicilianhunter on May 19, 2019 8:00:38 GMT -7
Nock, Did you catch them using primitive tackle ? I bought a kit but I think I need to get some more hooks than came with the kit and I was planning on making some horse hair leaders as well. I keep saying it but need to find the time to do it and get over to the cane brake near me and cut some poles and hang them to dry
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Fish?
May 19, 2019 8:36:17 GMT -7
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Post by brokennock on May 19, 2019 8:36:17 GMT -7
Nock, Did you catch them using primitive tackle ? I bought a kit but I think I need to get some more hooks than came with the kit and I was planning on making some horse hair leaders as well. I keep saying it but need to find the time to do it and get over to the cane brake near me and cut some poles and hang them to dry No, afraid not. Modern ultralight tackle. In the past I've caught hornpout (bullheads) and crappie, perch, and bluegill on hand lines. But, that's as close as I've come to fishing with "primitive," tackle. I did spend a year dedicated to cleaning any game taken, including fish, with stone blades, even if just a sharp flake of obsidian to clean a fish. That's primitive.
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Post by Black Hand on May 19, 2019 8:37:47 GMT -7
Fishhooks can easily be made from small finish nails with a ball-peen hammer, round-nose pliers, jeweler's files and a propane torch. The wire finish nails seen in the image are 1 3/8" or 3cm in length - come in a plastic package. I've made dozens (see the example below) and they do catch fish... The line is silk (Vegan waxed dental-floss) and the weight is a split .32 cal ball. Smaller weights can be made by rolling a piece of lead between 2 hard surfaces to make a ball and splitting with a blade about 1/2 to 2/3 of the ball diameter or by cutting strips from sheet lead (wrapped spirally around the line).
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Post by spence on May 19, 2019 16:23:33 GMT -7
I have used whitetail sinew for leader material with success on largemouth bass up to 1 1/2 lb. I saw on an episode of Stillwater Woodcraft the idea of using a wasp gall as a float, decided to try that. I found a nice one, plugged the hole where the newborn wasp drilled out with beeswax, tied it to my line with a simple clove hitch and it worked like a charm. I've used it to catch several nice bluegills on a hand line and on a pole cut at the bank. Spence
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Fish?
May 19, 2019 16:55:28 GMT -7
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Post by Black Hand on May 19, 2019 16:55:28 GMT -7
I also have a fishing line with a 2-ply twisted leader made from backstrap sinew and waxed - makes a nice tapered, strong leader. The wasp gall is a clever idea for a float.
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