 the rivers during June and July, and within the rivers during the rest of the year; flounders and frostfish are secured. The largest catch is made in Quiambaug, where the greatest number of nets is used. Here nearly 140,000 pounds of flounders, frostfish, and tautog, valued at $2,550, were obtained in 1889. Seven nets at Branford were fished for menhaden; about 100,000 fish were taken in the year named.
The fyke net fishery of Connecticut in 1889 resulted in the capture of 455,250 pounds of fish” (pages 318-319). The Fyke Nets and Fyke Net Fisheries of the United States US Fish Commission – Hugh M. Smith, The Connecticut Fishery.
The eastern CT fyke net fishery was mostly for flounder while the Connecticut River dominant fishery was shad.
Shad and The Connecticut River 1900 - 1920
What makes the lower Connecticut River so interesting about its fisheries history is the ability to connect four key gear types for the capture of Shad Alosa sapidissima*. Haul seines, traps and weirs, fykes and gill nets all were used that suited particular habitats. Historic fish landing statistics and even fishing gear ownership to individual firms or persons is now possible as more historic records become available. One of these areas was Hamburg Cove in Lyme, CT home to the Daniels fish company. With the US Fish Commission Reports 1880s, New England Fish Net and Twine manual and the State of Connecticut Biennial reports it is possible to represent gear type and design for shad, alewife and herring fisheries, such as river herring and menhaden. The lower Connecticut River had been the site of immense fishing efforts in the past and evolving gear types and recorded in the 1889 report of the United States Fisheries, Commission on Fisheries issued in conjunction with the 10th census. Nothing is seems was to impact Connecticut’s fisheries and habitat history of rivers more than Shad. (Connecticut State Fish – The American Shad (Alosa sapidissima) The American Shad was designated as the fish by the General Assembly in 2003. It was selected because: 1) it is a native Connecticut fish; 2) it has great historical significance in that it provided food for Native Americans and colonists; 3) it was, and continues to be, of great commercial value to the State; 4) because the hardiness of this migratory fish reflects the true Connecticut spirit stated in our motto “Qui Transtuli Sustinet” (He Who Transplants Still Sustains) from the official website of the State of Connecticut.)
Harvesting Shad during the Last Century
The fishing gear descriptions can be found in the historical literature and divided into four basic types. Habitat and weather determined fishing “seasons.” The Connecticut River was soon to have a large fyke net fishery.
Potential Examples for Display Models
• Fyke Nets – See the Daniel Fish Trap Company Hamburg Cove Lyme to 1901-52 State of CT Biennial Report.
• Gill Nets – Lower CT River gear type after the haul seine fisheries – 1875 to present US Fish Commission – The Fisheries of the Connecticut River – CT Board of Fisheries and Game 1965.
• Long Haul Seines – a modified “bunt and square” seine developed and fished from manmade fishing piers at the lower reaches of the Connecticut River – 1880-1905, see American Linen Thread Manual Trap Net Designs. These remnant seine “piers” still exist today although just piles of rocks below the surface in the lower Connecticut River.
• Traps and Weirs – The earliest shad fisheries
Native American South Cove Old Saybrook Pre Colonial to 1680 Colonial the Floating Pound or Trap Nets to 1940s and 1950s paper presented at the Archaeological Society of Connecticut October 18, 2008. This model seeks to represent a Native American basket weir that predated fykes. Local history referenced these weirs in Old Saybrook’s coves. Later pound or stake fish traps were used in Old Saybrook – some of the largest fish trap companies were located in Westbrook, CT. It is thought that 1950’s dredging in North Cove Old Saybrook incidentally removed a Native American fish weir.
The Connecticut River Shad Fishery has 