The net is of fine linen thread, and is practically
invisible to the shad in the obscure river current: it hangs suspended
perpendicularly in the water, kept in position by buoys at the top and
by weights at the bottom; the buoys are attached by cords twelve or
fifteen feet long, which allow the net to sink out of the reach of
the keels of passing vessels. The net is thrown out on the ebb tide,
stretching nearly across the river, and drifts down and then back on
the flood, the fish being snared behind the gills in their efforts to
pass through the meshes. I envy fishermen their intimate acquaintance
with the river. They know it by night as well as by day, and learn all
its moods and phases. The net is a delicate instrument that reveals
all the hidden currents and by-ways, as well as all the sunken snags
and wrecks at the bottom. By day the fisherman notes the shape and
position of his net by means of the line or buoys; by night he marks
the far end of it with a lantern fastened upon a board or block. The
night tides he finds differ from the day--the flood at night being
much stronger than at other times, as if some pressure had been
removed with the sun, and the freed currents found less hindrance.
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