404 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



4. I had all the implements for seine-fishing on hand, and no expense 

 for an outfit would be incurred in using the seine. 



Had we been able to keep alive all the fish we caught till we had taken 

 their eggs, the seining-method would have been the best and cheapest; 

 but, as will be seen farther on, the parent salmon in our inclosures died 

 so fast and in such numbers that I had to keep up the seine-fishing far 

 beyond the expected time, which made it very expensive and probably 

 less economical in the end than the trap-project would have been. 



Our seine was a short one, of about 20 fathoms, and of a mesh small 

 enough to catch half-pound grilse and trout. At the beginning of the 

 fishing in July and first part of August, w r e caught a good many trout, 

 but, in the latter part of the fishing in September, very rarely one. We 

 drew the seine at first in still places, where the river had formed a large, 

 broad, and deep basin, but we found subsequently that we caught more 

 fish by carrying the seine up the river-channel a few rods, and sweep- 

 ing the channel as well as the basin. In fact, our experience seemed to 

 show that there were more salmon in the narrower channel above the 

 deep holes than in the holes themselves. Later in the season, while 

 the fish were spawning, we had the best success in the rapids below the 

 holes, or, I should say, as near the rapids as we could go with the boats 

 and seine; the rapids themselves being too swift water either to haul a 

 ^eine or to row a boat in. 



At times, the salmon caught would be mostly males ; at other times, 

 mostly females; and at other times, nearly all grilse, which seemed to 

 indicate that there were separate runs of males and females and grilse, 

 respectively. "We usually began fishing at dark, and fished till mid- 

 night or daylight, according to circumstances. Mr. Myron Green had 

 charge of the fishing most of the time, and performed his part very 



creditably and faithfully. 



• 



Table shoicing the character of the fishing at different intervals. 



We caught about 1,000 salmon altogether during the summer's fish- 



ing. 



