762 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



Ou the west shore of Lake Michigan there are numerous grounds of varying importance. The 

 most northerly is at the Cana Islands, a little to the north of Jacksouport. The next lies off Clay 

 Banks, and a small one 4 miles farther south. None of these grounds are of great extent. South- 

 ward, however, stretching from Two Creeks to Manitowoc, is a large and much-frequented ground, 

 and one of the most important on the west side of the lake. Other grounds occur farther south, 

 beginning at Sheboygau and extending with occasional interruptions to within a few miles of the 

 boundary line between Wisconsin and Illinois. The principal fishing is in the vicinity of Sheboy- 

 gan, Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha. 



Gill-nets are employed along almost the entire eastern shore of Lake Michigan, north of 

 Michigan City, as far as Manistee, in Grand Traverse Bay, and from its entrance northward to the 

 Straits of Mackinaw. 



In Lake Huron the most noteworthy grounds extend northward from the entrance of Thunder 

 Bay, and southward from the entrance of Saginaw Bay. 



At the west end of Lake Erie there are two grounds of considerable importance, one opposite 

 the village of Toussaint, and the other around Gull Island Shoal, east of the Bass Islands. 



Eastward we find grounds of very great size, extending several miles in either direction from 

 Erie, and far out into the lake. Others of nearly as 'great proportions lie off Ashtabula and 

 Conneaut. 



The gill-net fishery in Lake Ontario is of less importance than that carried on in the other 

 lakes. Grounds of limited extent exist in the vicinity of Poultney ville, Fair Haven, Oak Orchard, 

 Wilson, Braddock's Bay, Charlotte, and Colise Lauding, at the east end of the lake. 



2. FISHERMEN. 



On account of the number of steam-tugs employed in the gill-net fishery, many men, such as 

 engineers, pilots, and firemen, who are not strictly fishermen, are connected with it. Furthermore, 

 participation in the gill-net fishery does not imply the possession of any considerable amount of 

 capital, as in the pound fishery, and hence we find all classes of fishermen employed. Some own 

 hundreds of nets and employ steam-tugs and other large craft ; others possess only a small boat or 

 two, and fish with scarcely more than a score of nets. As a class, the gill-net fishermen are, per- 

 haps, the most venturesome men, and at the same time the most skillful seamen, of the lakes. In 

 certain regions they set their nets near the shore, but in other localities they invariably fish at a 

 distance of 20 or 30 miles from land, and frequently encounter storms, which, were it not for their 

 skill in managing their boats, would inevitably overwhelm them. As we have already stated, 

 however, disasters are comparatively rare. 



3. APPARATUS AND METHODS OF THE FISHERY. 



BOATS. A great variety of boats are employed by gill net fishermen, most important among 

 which are the steam-tugs, and the boats known as the Mackinaw, the Huron or "square stern," 

 the Hayward, the Carver, the Wheeler, and one called the Clinker, the name being descriptive of 

 the manner in which it is built. Norwegian sloops are also used in some localities. 



The Mackinaw boat has already been described in the chapter on the pound-net fishery. 



The steam-tugs used in the fisheries are from 5 to 30 tons burden, modeled after the ordinary 

 towing tug. They cost from $2,000 to $10,000 each. In the forward hold bins for storing fish and 

 ice-boxes are built. The after third of the boat is housed over and used as a place of storage "for 

 the net-boxes. Rollers are arranged at the bow, over which the nets are hauled in. Tugs are used 

 only with "heavy rigs," that is, with a large number of nets, and principally in off-shore fisheries. 



