618 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
fourths of the quantity and value of the entire products of the lake. 
Pound nets are used all along the shores of the lake, but are found in 
greatest numbers in Saginaw Bay. They are usually set in water 
from 6 to 45 feet in depth, except off Cheboygan County, where many 
of them are much farther out in the lake in from 40 to 60 feet of 
water. Their average value in Saginaw Bay is about $140 each, while 
for the entire lake it is about $130. In this region the terms ‘‘ pound 
net” and ‘Strap net” are sometimes used interchangeably, although 
the two forms are distinct from each other, the former being set with 
driven stakes, while the latter is held in position by buoys and 
anchors. Trap nets are set in shallow water, and catch the cheaper 
varieties of fish, especially in the vicinity of Detour. In the Saginaw 
Bay region a net of this character is also called a submarine net, and 
is used very successfully in taking cat-fish. 
The amount of money invested in pound nets in 1899 was more than 
double that invested in gill nets. The most valuable species taken in 
pound nets are herring, wall-eyed pike, perch, and white-fish. As 
a rule the pound-net fishermen, especially at Saginaw Bay, depend 
upon herring for their principal catch, but in 1899 there was an 
exceptionally large run of perch and a corresponding diminution in 
the catch of herring. 
The most extensive gill-net fisheries of the lake are carried on from 
Alpena, Harbor Beach, Au Sable, Kast Tawas, and Detour, and to a 
less extent at Rogers City, Cheboygan, and other points. Trout is by 
far the most important species taken by means of gill nets, its value 
being more than four times the value of all the other species combined. 
White-fish also form avery important feature of the gill-net catch. 
At Harbor Beach an extensive gill-net fishery is carried on for perch, 
suckers, and Menominee white-fish, the season being from December 
to July. The nets used have a smaller mesh and are shorter than 
those used for trout and white-fish. The average length of the gill 
nets used in the shore fisheries of the lake is about 170 yards, each 
being valued at about $8, while the average length of those used on 
vessels is about 230 yards and the value about $12 each. The history 
of gill nets on Lake Huron dates back to 1835, when crude forms were 
used in the vicinity of Alpena. They soon gained popularity, and 
within fifteen vears from their introduction were found from the 
Straits of Mackinac to almost the head of the St. Clair River. 
The principal species taken in fyke nets are perch and suckers, but 
bullheads, pike, and wall-eyed pike are also captured. Most of the 
fyke-net fishing is carried on in Saginaw River between Saginaw and 
the mouth of the river. The nets are worth from $15 to $25, and they 
are fished from late in the fall until early in the spring when the ice 
begins to leave, practically all of the fishing being done through the 
ice. The local name given to this net is ‘*‘ gobbler.” 
