"The broyling of their fish over the flame of fire."
Library of Congress Photo
The first settlers did not have to learn from the Indians how to cook fish, but this method was perhaps as appetizing as any they knew.
The manner of their fishing.
Library of Congress Photo
The first colonists saw the Indians engaged in fishing practices that included spearing, luring with firelight, and entrapping in staked-off enclosures.
The sheepshead was one of the favorite seafoods of Tidewater Virginians from the beginning. It was fairly abundant, according to their records, and remained so until the twentieth century, when it became almost extinct in Chesapeake waters.