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There was some commercial fishing on the Choptank also. At least two families in West Denton made a living by fishing on the river. In season they would go down the river daily in their boats and use their nets to fish for shad, herring, rock fish and carp.
The nets, about four feet in depth, would be suspended in the water by floating corks and were usually placed so that they covered the distance from shore to shore. As one fisherman rowed the boat, the other one would "pay out" the net hand over hand until a continuous net approaching a half mile long would cross the river diagonally.
Then came the process of gathering it in, removing the fish, and folding it layer upon layer so that it was ready to be "payed" out again. Much care had to be taken to prevent tangling and to make it easy to "pay" it out and gather it in time after time. In the winter months, they would spend much time repairing their nets or making new ones, as well as repairing and painting their boats......
During the oyster season there were always one or two oyster boats tied up along the river bank with oysters for sale in the shell by the bushel, half bushel, or tomato basket. People would stop by, purchase whatever quantity they needed, take them home and prepare them for eating. In case the customer did not want to bother with shucking them, the boatman would shuck out a quart, half gallon or a gallon for which he could get a better price.
A gallon of shucked oysters would sell for $2.50 or $3.00 Today they would more than likely be $25.00 or more a gallon. A half-dozen oysters on-the-half-shell at a restaurant will cost about $3.50 or $4.00.
More than once I have sat on the side of an oyster boat, shucking oysters and eating them from the shell. The oyster boat would stay around for a few days until all of the oysters were sold. Once out of the water, oysters will not keep very long in the shell without spoiling unless refrigerated. Thus, the boatman had to dispose of his boatload quickly. If at the end of several days, sales had not been good and quite a few oysters were left, they could be purchased for bargain prices.
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