490 V. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Spoons are generally used. All shapes are employed, from the 

 ordinary Siwash patterns to wobblers; brass or silver wobblers, of 

 Nos. 4 and 5 sizes, are largely used by the fishermen. Spinners of 2 to 

 3 inches long are also popular. Copper, copper and silver, and brass 

 spinners of the Siwash and Victoria patterns are very effective, while 

 red beads, feathered hooks, or a piece of silvery salmon skin placed 

 on the hook as an additional bait often add to the attraction of a 

 spoon. 



Quite generally the fishermen use single hooks on their spoons. 

 Various lengths of line are used, but on the average about 60 feet for 

 outside fines and 40 for inside are used. As fish can be landed much 

 quicker with a short line, the fishermen generally shorten their lines 

 to 20 or 30 feet when the fish are biting rapidly. Quite heavy lines 

 are used from the pole to the sinker; from there extends a length of 

 light fine, and then a piece of wire, to which the spoon is attached. 

 The sinker, which is usually between 2 and 3 pounds in weight when 

 fishing from a posver boat and about 1 pound when a rowboat is 

 employed, is attached to the line about 18 feet from the spoon. 



The best fishing times are in the early morning and evening, 

 without regard to tidal conditions. The low slack water is always 

 favorable to good fishing. 



These fish are delicate flavored, but do not keep well, it being 

 necessary to rush them to market if they are to be sold in a first-class 

 condition. 



Considerable numbers of these fish are taken by both American and 

 Canadian fishermen on Swiftsure Banks, off Cape Flattery. As 

 complaint had been made in 1914 that these fish were immature and 

 were unfit for canning because of their appearance after being out of 

 the water some hours, H. T. Graves, acting commissioner of agri- 

 culture for the State of Washington, which department is concerned 

 with the wholesomeness of food products, made a thorough investiga- 

 tion of their fitness for food. In a letter to the Pacific Fisherman, 

 Seattle, Wash., and published in that journal under date of August, 

 1914, he states, among other things, the following: 



The question, therefore, for us to determine was to ascertain their value as a 

 food product. The condition of these fish arriving at the various canneries was 

 carefully noted; samples were selected for bacteriological analysis. 



The fish when first taken from the water are very soft when compared with the 

 other salmon. After they have been out of the water 12 hours the fish easily 

 separates from the bony structures, and in the course of ordinary handling in 

 the time which elapses between the hour of taking from the water until they are 

 offered for packing at Sound canneries, which is anywhere from 12 to 48 hours, 

 they become badly broken up and present a rather ugly and distasteful appearance, 

 to say the least. 



We found that many different methods of handling were being experimented 

 with by the fishermen and by Puget Sound canneries, but without any noticeable 

 effect. While from a physical observation one would imagine these fish as 

 received at the Sound canneries to be unwholesome, a bacteriological examina- 

 tion by Dr. E. P. Fick, State bacteriologist, indicated that putrefaction was not 

 present, although some of the specimens did contain a rather high bacteria 

 count. 



BOW AND ARROW 



On the Tanana River, a tributary of the Yukon River, in Alaska, 

 the Indians hunt salmon in birch-bark canoes with bow and arrow. 

 As the canoe is paddled along and the Indian sees the dorsal fin of 

 the salmon cutting the surface of the muddy water he shoots it. The 



