LAKE MICHIGAN. ] 19 



teganliiig' the (jiuuitities of trout tiikoii tbere. The grounds fxteud te-u or twelve miles lioui the 

 rock in everj- direction, and the water at the outer limit is more than one hundred fathoms deep 

 in many places; the bottom is rocky and clayey. It is a very iiivorable place for bookflshiug, 

 and is visited from time to time by the fishermen of Marquette. 



Grand Island to Sault de Ste. Maeib and Detour. — There are but few fishing-grounds 

 along the south shore of Lake Superior east of Grand Island, except at Whitefish Point. 

 Gill-net grounds extend a few miles on either side of the point, and five or six miles from laud. 

 The water is comparatively shallow and the bottom everywhere sandy. A tug visits the western 

 grounds at certain seasons. The fishermen state that the water has receded considerably at this 

 point within the past five years, and that fisheries of all kinds, except gill-netting, have been less 

 successful than formerly. 



The exposed condition of the coast about Whitefish Point renders the successful 

 establishment of pound-nets quite imi)Ossible. During 1S79, however, one net was set; a short 

 distance west of the point, and another to the south of it, iu Whitefish Bay, 



Large quantities of whitefish are caught with dip-nets in the rapids at Sault de Ste. Marie 

 by the Indians. Not infrequently several hundred pounds are taken by a single canoe iu one 

 day. Grounds of limited extent exist in Whisky Bay, on which small quautities of fish are 

 taken with trap-nets. 



20. LAKE MICHIGAN AND THE STRAITS OF MACKINAC. 



Point Detour to Seul Cnoix Point. — The fishing-grounds in the Straits of Mackinac 

 and vicinity are widely scattered and difficult of location, and it is quite possible that some of 

 them have escaped observation. 



The first important gill-net ground west of Detour Passage extends from Strong's Island, 

 about sixteen miles in a southeasterly direction, to and about Spectacle Beef. The water is very 

 deep in the southern part of this ground, in some places approaching three hundred fathoms, but 

 about Spectacle Beef and near shore it is of course comparatively shallow, although in some 

 spots, in very close proximity to the former, from forty to sixty fixthoms may be found. The 

 nature of the bottom differs very much iu different i^arts of the ground, but mud, sand, and rock 

 predominate. This ground has the reputation of being exhausted at the present time, and very 

 little fishing is jirosecuted on it. 



Some little gill-net fishing is carried on between Mackinac and Bound Islands and to the 

 westward of the latter, and also for a short distance along the shore north of Point Saint Ignace. 

 These grounds are frequented, however, only by fishermen using but ten or twenty nets, who sell 

 their fish to the steamers and hotels. 



The whole northern shore of Lake Michigan, from the straits to Seul Choix Poiut, is one vast 

 gill net ground. It is considered one of the best on the lake. Fishing is carried on at a distance 

 of ten, fifteen, or even twenty miles from laud. The favorite grounds are southeast of Poiut 

 Patterson, between Simmons's Beef and Point Epoufette, westward of Saint Helena Shoal, and 

 southwest of Poiut anx Chenes. On the first-mentioned ground the bottom is chiefli' sandy, but 

 on the others the sand is largely mingled with rock and clay. The depth of water does not 

 exceed sixteen or eighteen fathoms at any point, the average depth being considerably less. 



The boats fishing on these shoals belong at different i)oiuts along the north shore and at 

 Mackinac. Many Beaver Island boats also fish here, especially on the southern borders of the 

 grounds. 



