long long days

While watching Steve and Charlie mend the nets this evening, there was talk about how the crews would go and haul for Shad twice in one day, but that was when Steve's grandfather, Fred Lewis, was alive. He would spend all day mending the nets and they could easily go out twice. Tonight we didn't start towing the boat up until 7:50. There was a lot of rain today and the river was racing. So, we had to take off 100 yards of netting to make it easier to haul in. More than that and the current would have whipped the nets down river too far and it would have been difficult to haul in. Then, there were a lot of holes that needed to be mended and that took a lot of time. Thankfully the rain was gone and while Steve and Charlie worked the rest of the crew chatted about drinking soirees when we were young. As the sun started to set light bathed the free bridge in Lambertville, giving it a warm glow.

Tonight Ted, who mans the brail from on shore and trails the boat as it lets out the net, said as he neared the point on Lewis Island that there was a great amount of commotion in the water. We had caught something big! We pulled with greater urgency, curious to see what it was and the "bag", the point in the net where the fish realize they're caught and struggle against the constricting mesh, roiled. I was the lower lead side of the net tonight, not the cork side, and I pulled harder than I had before. My shoulders ached. We had already removed 100 yards of netting because the current in the Delaware was so strong. Had we left it on the net would have plowed into the free bridge in town. It turned out to be 3 large carp, each a good 2 1/2 feet long. We caught 4 American Shad that we kept. We tossed a number of smaller ones back as well as catfish, suckers, small mouth bass and gizzard shad.

It has been a long day. I got up at 3 a.m. for work in NYC and went right down to the river. Thankfully I did not row today as promised. Andrew Baker showed up, Steve's nephew and John's son. He and John rowed. I was happy to see the father and son tandem go off.

cheers,
g