From the inside cover: "The ice on the Hudson River was beginning to break up in the March thaw. Ralph and Dick stopped on their way to high school to watch it. "Wish I knew some way to earn money for college in the fall," Ralph remarked. "Same here," Dick answered. That was the beginning of the Phillipsville shad-fishing industry, although neither boy suspected it at the time.
The spring shad fishing at Phillipsville had always been controlled by the Admiral, who had his own methods for keeping independent fishermen off the river. But those methods could not stop Ralph and Dick once they were determined to try shad fishing. Fortunately for Phillipsville Cooperative Shad Fishers, the strife was settled before the last tremendous run of shad that season.
This absorbing adventure story is also an excellent picture of the success of cooperative planning in a real industry."
Set in a fictionalized version of real-life Cold Spring, NY.