Daily National Intelligencer

COMMUNICATED.

The Potomac river fisheries, from the mouth of the Occoquan upwards, have turned out less productive the last season than usual heretofore, owing, it is generally believed, to the very extraordinary cold and tempestuous weather during the month of April, and part of May. Although a considerable take of the best quality herring was caught later in the season than was ever before known, still complaints are generally going forth against the encroachments on the shores of the gill-net fishermen and steam-boat mischiefs. This bountiful gift of such myriads of herring, and the finest quality too, is likely to be improved upon next year, by the better making up of barrelled fish at the seines, and by vessels from distant quarters bringing every material for their cure on board and at anchor. A party from the Upper Chesapeake are about to introduce the use of sturgeon-nets of large mesh, bagged a little in the middle, and of such breadth as to sweep the channel bottoms from six to twelve fathoms deep in most places, for the larger takes of this valuable fish for pickling in barrels, or in the salmon kipper mode, and for the extract of oil, instead of the tedious old mode of lines with unbated hooks, although this is a majestic kind of fishing, and often yielding a nightly deposit on the shores of dozens of large sturgeon. It having been doubted by many, that above three hundred and seventy thousand herrings were taken at one haul at the Warburton wharf, we have good authority for stating, that a very few years previous, there was taken at gen. Philip Stuart's (the next below adjoining landing) the miraculous draft of above six hundred thousand herrings.