570 ^ U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



pike, March 10 to May 1; and all others, except trout, whitefish, 

 suckers, carp, and herring, from April 15 to May 20, inclusive. 

 There is a closed season on sturgeon at all times in Wisconsin. Illi- 

 nois prohibits fishing for trout and whitefish from November 1 to 

 December 1, inclusive, while Michigan provides a closed season for 

 trout from October 10 to November 4, inclusive, and for whitefish 

 from November 20 to December 15, inclusive. Wisconsin and 

 Michigan permit net fishing during a closed season if the spawn be 

 saved, impregnated, and delivered to the proper authorities. 



LAKE SUPERIOR 



DESCRIPTION 



Lake Superior lies at the head of the Great Lakes and is the largest, 

 deepest, and coldest of the chain. It receives the waters of Lake 

 Nipigon to the northward and drains through St. Marys River into 

 the North Channel. The lake is broadly crescentic in shape, with 

 a length of about 355 miles and a width on the western haK of about 

 70 miles and on the eastern half of 90 to 110 miles. Its area is 

 about 32,000 square miles. The main body of the lake is more than 

 100 fathoms in depth, and a sounding of 196 fathoms has been 

 recorded. The shore on the outer curve of the crescent is precipitous, 

 and at many points a 100-fathom depth can be reached within 2 

 miles of land. The bottom slopes more gradually from the southern 

 shore, and the 50-fathom contour is on the average about 5 or 6 

 miles out. There are several bays and a number oi large islands in 

 the lake, in and around which conditions are more tempered than 

 in the lake itself. These areas, however, are relatively insignificant, 

 and the only important stretches of shallow water lie in the Apostle 

 Islands region, Whitefish Bay, and in the bay region on the north 

 shore. The shores are rocky for the most part, except on the south, 

 where there are broad stretches of sand, gravel, and clay. Most of 

 the bottom in the deeper parts is clay. 



FISHING INDUSTRY 



HISTORY 



The fishery resources of Lake Superior were the last to be tapped, 

 though the earliest explorers had some idea as to their wealth. As 

 the other lakes began to show signs of depletion, these remoter areas 

 were investigated in order to meet the demand for fish. The open- 

 ing of the interior lakes of Canada is but another and the last step 

 in this movement. 



As elsewhere, the whitefish was the principal species sought and a 

 pound-net fishery to take them was established at the head of White- 

 fish Bay at Whitefish Point about 1860. From thence the fisheries 

 spread westward, and less than 10 years later fishing operations 

 were begun on the Canadian side. The Canadian fishing grounds 

 have never been so extensively exploited, and when about 1890 

 production fell off on the American shore much American capital 



