APPARATUS USED IN CAPTURING FISH. 



2;") 7 



lislj, tloats, aiifl stoue, passing iiibnard over the roller. The stones and floats arc 

 removed and jiiled in racks and trays, the lish taken out and thrown into the box, and 

 the nets donbled into bnndles. Picking out sticks and leaves, rinsing tlie nets and 

 drying them on stakes set in a long row for ihe purpose, complete the work up to 

 tying on tloats and stones again. 



The cork au<l lead nets are dried on a large reel. At intervals of a few weeks the 

 nets are boiled in soap-suds or lye, to rid them of fish-slime and confervie, as otherwise 

 the twine rots rapidly. 



From two to four gangs are left iu the lake at once, taking up each gang in from two 

 to four days from the time it was set. 



In the southern half of Lake Michigan the fishermen use a large boat, witli five and 

 six gangs to the boat, each gang having from twenty-five to thirty-six nets, and em- 

 ploying five men to the boat. 



In the northern half of the lake light Mackinaw boats are used, two or three men to 

 the boat, and from two to four gangs of nets, with eight to twenty nets to the gang. 



When anchored, gill-nets are not nufrequently bronght into a curve, 

 one end being bent so as to form an acute and ver^^ narrow V ; and the 

 fish striking against the longer limb of the V and moving into the angle, 

 gradually become entangled and are meshed. At other times both ends 

 are brought around and fastened, so as to form a shape somewhat simi- 

 lar to that of the heart of a regular pound. 



The fishery-acts of Canada, respecting the capture of salmon in their 

 passage up the rivers at the spawning-season, provide that no net or 

 other device shall be so used as to entirely obstruct the passage of fish, 

 and that the main channel or course of any stream shall not be ob- 

 structed. While prohibiting the use of bag-nets, trap-nets, and fish- 

 ponnds, in the capture of salmon, it allows the use of a gill-net, (Fig- 

 ure 2,) known as the " stake-net," which is a net fence hung on stakes set 





GillTN'et. used for catching SalniorL on tlie St. Lawrence. 

 Dr. Pierre Tortin". 



about seven yards apart, in a line at right angles with the shore. This 

 portion of the net is termed the "bar-net." At from ten to fifteen yards 

 S. Mis. 61 17 



