404 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



10 tons of fisli, but when they drew it to get out the fish all but 9 fish 

 were so small that they made their escape through the meshes. 



Mr. Charles Corbett stated that he had seen just such a condition in 

 his nets at Hammond Bay. He and others think there is no doubt 

 that the fish they are now catching in Hammond Bay are fish that 

 were artificially hatched. The results of propagation are here so 

 marked and so thoroughly ai)])reciated by the fishermen that they 

 earnestly desire a continuance of fish-cultural work, and the principal 

 fishermen are anxious to see the beneficial effects of fish-culture sup- 

 plemented by an enlargement of the mesh in the pots of the pound 

 nets, so as to permit the escape of small fish. 



In the gill-net fisheries of Presque Isle County, centering at Eogers 

 City, most of the catch consists of trout, although a few whitefish are 

 also taken. Trout at this i^lace are gradually decreasing, but white- 

 fish appear to be holding their own. 



Trout is the most abundant and important fish in the extensive fish- 

 eries carried on from Alpena and other places in Alpena County. 

 Whitefish rank next in importance. Four-fifths of the catch in the gill 

 nets operated from small boats consists of trout and the rest of white- 

 fish. A few thousand pounds of Menominee whitefish are also thus 

 taken. In the gill-net fisheries carried on with steamers the relative 

 proportions of trout and whitefish are the same. The lake herring is 

 the prominent fish taken in pound nets; after which come trout, stur- 

 geon, whitefish, pike, and pike perch. During the year covered by the 

 inquiries of the Fish Commission no special increase in the abundance 

 of whitefish in this county was noted. In the fall of the previous year, 

 however, the fish came to the shoals north of Thunder Bay Island in 

 very large numbers, and a better catch was made than at any time for 

 many years previous. In the fall of 1890 the advent of another large 

 body of fish appeared to be imminent, when a protracted sj)ell of stormy 

 weather caused the fish to leave the shoals. Indications at the time 

 pointed to a larger run of fish than had been observed in that region 

 for ten years. The fishermen are quite enthusiastic over the prosjjects 

 of good fishing, which they attribute almost entirely to artificial propa- 

 gation. They think, however, that the results would be more marked 

 if it were not for the damage done by the large amount of refuse from 

 sawmills thrown into the water along this shore, causing the fish to 

 seek other parts of the lake. The iu'orease of whitefish in Georgian 

 Bay in recent years has been pronounced. 



In the report on the fislieries of the Great Lakes in 1885 the following 

 statements were made regarding the causes of the decrease of fish in 

 the Alpena fisheries : 



At first whitefish and. trout were both abundant, and fishermen found no difficulty 

 in catching with a few small gill nets as many fish as they could sell. But since 

 1881 or 1882 they have been comparatively scarce. Various causes are given for this 

 decrease. The gill-net fishermen lay the blame, on the small-meshed pound nets. 

 The pound-net fishermen^ on the other hand, throw the responsibility upon ttie 



