688 liEPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



bring- 11 .slii^htly hig'her price owing' to the fact that they pack better, 

 and more can be put in a package. They also absorb the salt better 

 than ''ciscoes.'' In some instances salt herring are sold under the 

 trade name of '"family vvdiite fish." Lake Huron herring average 

 in weight from one-ihird to three-fourths of a pound, though an occa- 

 sional one weighing- 8 pounds is taken. 



Suckers are caught from Detour to Port Huron, but the largest 

 quantities are taken in the lake oiT Cheljoygan and in the Cheboygan 

 liiver at that town, and in the Saginaw River. At Cheboygan they 

 are caught principally in trap nets during the spring, usually in May, 

 while in the Saginaw River they are caught in f^'ke nets and pound 

 nets from Noveml)er 1 to April 15. About one-half of the entire catch 

 of the lake is salted and the remainder sold fresh. Suckers average in 

 weight from l.r to 2 pounds each. 



Yellow perch ordinarily })ring a small price, an av^ei'age being from 

 i to li cents per pound. Along the Saginaw River, how^ever, during 

 the winter they are shipped to New York C-ity by the lishermen and 

 net them from 2 to D cents per pound. They are taken mainly in fyke 

 nets, pound nets, and trap n.ets, and are all sold fresh. Perch vary in 

 weight from 6 to 11 ounces each on an average. 



With the exception of sturgeon, white-fish are the most valued of the 

 commercial species taken in Lake Huron. The}^ are caught in every 

 county bordering on the lake, but are most plentiful around Little 

 Charity Island, near the entrance to Saginaw Bay. This island is the 

 propert}" of a fishing firm at Bay City which supports a very extensive 

 fishery there. White-fish are sold fresh except at times during the 

 summer, when the flesh becomes soft from the extreme heat. The fish 

 thus affected are salted before being- marketed. In this process it is 

 customary to open them down the back, as they do not keep well if 

 opened down the belly. Practically the entire catch of white-fish is 

 taken in pound nets and gill nets, the catch with the latter being prin- 

 cipally b}' steamers. Tlie average weight of white-fish taken in Lake 

 Huron is from 2 to 3 pounds each. Off Caseville they are frequentl}'- 

 taken weighing 17 pounds each, and one was taken in the fall of 1903 

 weighing 19 pounds. Those weighing 5 pounds or more are called 

 jumbos and sell for double the price of the smaller ones. 



Among the other species taken in this lake that assume some impor- 

 tance in certain localities are pike and pickerel, Menominee white-fish, 

 rock bass, cat-fish, long-jaw white-fish, bullheads, and sturgeon. A 

 few other species are also taken incidentally along the lake, but are of 

 less importance. 



Except on the Saginaw River very few fishermen along Lake Huron 

 ship their own catch, but sell to local dealers. At West Bay City and 

 Essexville there are five dealers who handle practically all of the fish 



