The Salmon 151 



ample, traps are swept away by the currents, seines are 

 tangled up, a deep gill net will meet an under current of salt 

 water under the fresh water, and is thus upset. The only 

 effective fishing gear is therefore a very shallow gill net 

 floating in the fresh water at the surface. Rivers of the 

 first class are the following : Yukon, Kuskoquim, Shushitna, 

 Copper, Alsek, Taku, Speel, Whiting, Stikine and Unuk 

 Rivers. The streams about Bristol Bay should not be placed 

 in this class, as they flow through lakes and are essentially 

 red salmon streams, in spite of their large size. 



The streams of the second class, or red salmon streams, 

 are those of large or small size which flow through lakes or 

 have lakes tributary to them. In all these the red salmon 

 runs freely, spawning always in the gravelly bed of the 

 stream at the head of some lake. The four greatest of 

 red salmon streams are the Fraser River, Karluk River, 

 Nushegak River and Kvichak River, all large streams flow- 

 ing through lakes. In proportion to the amount of wa- 

 ter, probably no stream in the world normally carries more 

 salmon than the Karluk River. 



The streams of the third class, or humpback salmon 

 streams, comprise the remaining streams of Alaska. These 

 may be large swift rivers, as the Skaguay River, or they 

 may be little brooks, in any case not frequented by the king 

 salmon, and having no lake in the course, hence not fit for 

 the red salmon. Their runs are confined to the ignoble 

 species, which ascend for a short distance only. In the 

 larger streams to the northward as Skaguay River and Dyea 

 River, the dog salmon predominates. Southward as in Fish 

 Creek, at Ketchikan and Anan Creek, the humpback salmon 

 predominates, although the humpback is equally common 

 in the red salmon streams. Some of these streams of the 

 third class, as Fish Creek, flow through lakes. Presumably 

 these lack fit spawning grounds. 



The question as to what constitutes the mouth of the 

 river is one of some importance in Alaska. The tides run 



