July, 1955 
Experimental Floats at Quincy.— 
An experiment with trammel net floats 
was conducted in the Mississippi River 
near Quincy, Illinois, in early November 
of 1944. The experimental net used was 
100 yards in length and consisted of two 
sections, one 50-yard section with a 114- 
inch-mesh inner net and the other 50-yard 
section with 2-inch-mesh inner net. The 
two sections were sewed together to form 
one continuous net. 
In 33 floats, 197 fish were taken, table 
29. The catches from these floats are in- 
cluded also in table 26. Shovelnose stur- 
geons comprised 51.3 per cent and fresh- 
water drums 30.5 per cent of the number 
of fish in these catches. Other commer- 
cial fishes amounted to only 6.6 per cent 
of the number of individuals in these 
catches. Garfishes amounted to 8.6 per 
cent. 
Five saugers were the only sport fishes 
taken in the 33 experimental floats. These 
fish were taken in the section of the net 
STARRETT & BARNICKOL: COMMERCIAL FISHING DeEvIcEs 363 
with the 114-inch-mesh inner net. The 
float method of trammel netting, as dem- 
onstrated by the 33 experimental floats 
and the other 75 floats made during the 
2-year survey, presents no problem rela- 
tive to sport fishes. 
The section of the experimental net 
with the 11-inch-mesh inner net took 3.8 
times as many shovelnose sturgeons as the 
section with the 2-inch-mesh inner net. 
The sturgeons taken in the 11-inch mesh 
were smaller than those taken in the 2- 
inch mesh. The mean of the fork lengths* 
of shovelnose sturgeons was 25.5 inches 
for those taken in the 114-inch mesh, and 
26.8 inches for those taken in the 2-inch 
mesh. One 8.4-inch shovelnose sturgeon 
was taken in the 14-inch mesh; the re- 
mainder taken in this mesh ranged from 
22.5 to 31.2 inches fork length. In the 
section of the net with 2-inch mesh, the 
sturgeons caught ranged in fork length 
* Fork length is the measurement from the tip of the 
snout to the base of the caudal filament. 
Table 29—Summary of the catches of fish taken in 33 floats with a 100-yard experimental 
trammel net (50 yards with 12-inch-mesh inner net and 50 yards with 2-inch-mesh inner net) 
in the Mississippi River near Quincy, Illinois, November, 1944. Figures in parentheses indicate 
the numbers of fish gilled. 
14%-Incu-Mesu Net 2-Incu-Mesu Net 
Kinp oF FisH 
Number Per Cent Number Per Cent 
Caught Gilled Caught Gilled 
CoMMERCIAL 
a NE ACRCAGHS Ie eee cers ees eens «leh cients Sucre iis 4 (0) 0.0 1 (0) 0.0 
SPITTING NG AGtIS Nes ates cts fee ers cae ot auaiepone 1 (0) 0.0 0 (0) 0.0 
DEMS enor nia oto Oe vee Baad s eos 0 (0) 0.0 1 (0) 0.0 
PiresiiwateniGhut® hp: sci si cane ois eae ee $7 (0) De 7 23) 4.3 
Smallmouth buitalo:s..2).0 se a. .ce. bse. o' 0 (0) 0.0 1 (0) 0.0 
Bhovelnose StUrgeOn..... 2.6.02. 2252-2 scene 80 (3) 3.8 21 (1) 4.8 
“PI DRUOCESRRG ER ae ake Seel HOHE aces ana 2 (0) 0.0 0 (0) 0.0 
RRITERSTIC KEL CPt oe stsiy al. Na eck add Oahe alae a 2 (0) 0.0 1 (0) 0.0 
SPH DINGITELL a ook iar S le NE SP eee ER 126 (4) — 48 (2 — 
ENS EIGCLS CBee CSA ey Ct a a ea a — 3.2 — 4.2 
Sport 
STSCI Sg ae 5 (0) 0.0 0 (0) 0.0 
DAO oo 5 NS ee SOE I Aad 2 5 (0) — 0 (0) — 
AS IGSTEEATOE SS ee ee — 0.0 — 0.0 
PREDATORY 
BGR EMOSeIm ALN Aa A | onc oe he secs 4 (1) 25.0 1 (1) 100.0 
LAUD EIROSE (SEN OR Sie oar a as eae WG) 14.3 5 (0) — 
VISEDUCLLE S. Sein Soe Aes Ae, ER aE Re Ta i (2) 6 (1) — 
PNET AG OME Gre |e ovr cysts fils Suawaleoisas haus wd = 18.2 -= 16.7 
FoRAGE 
Be eN Comment ree OE N  N Stive Tia eee sea & 1 (0) 0.0 0 (0) 0 
SHAQ is LA. SD ak ea 1 (0) — (0) = 
PAV CTAG Cre prey OS sate te a veh terrae Lea 3h — 0.0 0.0 
TBGEULS oe Ea EE ee ae eo ee era 143 (6) — 54 (3) = 
PAVOLAG Crepe et ce Vese hinets fic otek. estate — 4.2 — 6 
