Amateur Fish Museums 165 



job nicely, the kind that can be purchased at most tackle shops. 

 Simply open the trap, drop in some bait such as fish heads or old 

 pieces of meat, and let it stay in the water overnight. 



In salt water I have experimented with different types of 

 traps. I have placed them on the sea bottom around docks and 

 bridge pilings, and I have set them from a rowboat in pro- 

 ductive-looking areas in the vicinity of submerged rocks and 

 reefs. I found that the arrow-shaped fish pot used in Bermuda, 

 Puerto Rico, and other islands of the Caribbean was by far more 

 successful than the funnel-shaped trap. Several of these traps 

 can be constructed easily with %-inch mesh or chicken wire 

 ( Fig. 162 ) . A hauling rope with a red-colored float on the one 

 end is tied to the trap. The rope should be long enough so that 

 it will not be submerged by high water. At one end of the trap, 

 a 6- or 8-inch square opening is cut in the mesh and a wire door 

 attached to it. When the trap is pulled out of the water, it can 

 be so tipped that the fishes fall toward the door and can be re- 

 moved easilv. Also, new bait can be inserted. In salt water, 

 bait which draws fishes is made up of clams and mussels with 

 broken shells, old shells, fish heads, and old meat. Light- 

 colored broken dishes placed in with the bait are an added 

 attraction. 



Fishery scientists supplement seining and trapping methods 

 by other means— electrical shockers that stun the fish, and a 

 poison, rotenone, which kills fishes by affecting their breathing 

 apparatus. However, amateur collectors need not concern 

 themselves with these methods of collecting. 



Preserving the Fishes 



Fishes up to the size of a largemouth bass, pickerel, trout, or 

 bluefish can be preserved for display easily in formaldehyde or 

 Formalin (Figs. 159 to 161). This chemical can be procured at 

 any drug supplv house. Your local druggist can help you. One 

 quart will go a long way. The preserving solution is made with 

 one part Formalin to nine parts water. Be sure to read the sec- 

 tion on Formalin before working with it. 



