PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES. 9] 
feet of the mouth of this ladder. Up to 1915 there was a second 
deadline, 600 feet from the falls, beyond which no commercial fisher- 
man could operate nets, but the Oregon legislature in that year 
closed the Willamette to all net fishermen from the Clackamas rapids 
to the falls. 
The salmon in the spring run on the Willamette will average about 
25 pounds each, but examples weighing 50 pounds and over are not 
uncommon. 
In 1914 the Salmon Club of Oregon was formed of anglers who 
desired to encourage the use of light tackle in the taking of large game 
fish, in place of the extremely heavy tackle heretofore used. The 
following rules were adopted: 
The rods used may be made of any material except solid bamboo cane. They must 
not be less than 5 feet in length and weigh not over 6 ounces. 
The line must not be heavier than the standard nine-thread linen line. 
: Sah tah of reel or spoon may be used and the wire leader must not exceed 3 feet 
Piieconcce must reel in his fish, bring it to gaff unaided, and must do the gaffing 
himself. Ifa rod is broken at any time during the struggle with the fish it will dis- 
qualify the catch. 
As a reward of merit the club awards bronze buttons to all anglers 
taking, on light tackle, salmon weighing 20 pounds or over; for a fish 
weighing over 30 pounds a silver button is given, and for any salmon 
over 40 pounds the lucky angler receives a gold button. Numerous 
additional prizes are also given by public-spirited citizens. 
The season for light tackle on the Willamette River and all other 
inland streams of Oregon has been fixed by the club from January 
1 to July 1. 
In 1915 the first angler to win a gold button on the Willamette 
River did so on April 18, when he took a 424-pound salmon. On 
the same day this same angler also won a silver button for a 324- 
pound fish and a bronze button for a 26-pound fish. 
DANGERS TO THE INDUSTRY. 
Man is undoubtedly the greatest present menace to the perpetua- 
tion of the great salmon fisheries of the Pacific coast. When the 
enormous number of fishermen engaged and the immense quantity 
of gear employed is considered, one sometimes wonders how any 
of the fish, in certain streams at least, escape. High water or low 
water, either of which will prevent certain forms of apparatus from 
fishing to any extent while such conditions prevail, storms which 
impede fishing, and the hundred and one small things which in 
the aggregate are of considerable importance, however, all aid in 
assisting the salmon in dodging the apparatus and reaching the 
spawning beds in safety, while, unless the stream is Poteletela 
blocked by a tight barricade, an indeterminate number of salmon 
will escape all the pitfalls man and animals may set for them. 
In some sections an almost idolatrous faith in the efficacy of arti- 
ficial culture of fish for replenishing the ravages of man and animals 
is manifested, and nothing has done more harm than the prevalence 
of such an idea. 
While it is an exceedingly difficult thing to prove, the concensus of 
opinion is that artificial culture does considerable good, yet the very 
fact that this can not be conclusively proven ought to be a warning 
to all concerned not to put blind faith in it alone. 
