32 FISHEKIES OF ALASKA, 1908. 



operated throughout the king and red salmon runs, but was far 

 from successful. The few salmon caught were taken mainly between 

 Monday and Tuesday mornings, the first twenty-four hours after 

 the weekly closed season had passed. Large numbers of trout and 

 some eulachons were caught, but these were not salable. 



HOOK-AND-LINE FISHING FOR SPAWNING SALMON. 



It has been supposed that salmon when on the spawning beds 

 would not take a baited hook. Observations in Ketchikan Creek 

 indicate, however, that the humpback salmon, at least, is an excep- 

 tion. One of the agents saw several caught in September on a hook 

 baited with salmon eggs, wliich they eagerly pursued, and he was 

 assured by several reputable sportsmen who had fished in this, the 

 principal salmon pool in the creek, for steelhead trout, that the 

 humpback were very annoying because of their persistency in taking 

 the bait, one man catching 7 in about an hour's time. At this time 

 the humpbacks were in an advanced spawning condition, so much 

 so that they were not considered fit for food. 



TROLLING FOR COHO SALMON. 



It has been known for several seasons that the colio salmon would 

 take the trolling hook the same as the king salmon, but very little 

 effort was made to turn this knowledge to commercial use. In 

 August and September the fishermen trolhng for king salmon in the 

 neighborhood of Turnabout Island, in Frederick Sound, caught so 

 many cohos that the dealers agreed to take all that were brought in, 

 and as a result some of the fishermen made more money from their 

 catch of cohos than from that of king salmon. A Stewart spoon 

 with two hooks on one ring was used, baited with herring in such a 

 way that the fish was straightened out and faced toward the spoon. 



About the middle of September the sportsmen of Ketchikan dis- 

 covered the game qualities of the coho. In fisliing they used rod 

 and reel, and a Hendryx spoon (kidney bait no. 6), which is silvery 

 in color on one side and red on the other. The favorite fishing spot 

 seemed to be off a small creek on Gravina Island, across from the 

 head of Pennock Island, and the best time the flood tide. It was 

 agreed that although much smaller in size than the king, the coho 

 was much more game. About half an hour was required to land one 

 and during the struggle the fish would break water and jump from 

 12 to 15 times. Those caught averaged about 12 pounds in weight, 

 and despite the fact that it was the spawning season of the species, 

 herring were invariably found in their stomachs. 



