300 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



doricus). The only specimen of the true whitefish which we have seen 

 from any locality west of Lake Superior is an example obtained by Mr. 

 Woohnan in the Duluth market, and which is alleged to have come from 

 Lake Winnipeg. All the records of the occurrence of this species west 

 of Lake Superior need verification. 



Names, size, habits, etc. — This fish is generally known as the whitefish 

 throughout the United States and Canada. The landlocked race found 

 in Otsego Lake, N. Y., has been designated by the singularly inappro- 

 priate and misleading name of "Otsego bass." Several local names 

 have been applied to the fish in Lake Superior, in allusion to the 

 nuchal hump which characterizes the breeding males. Mr. Woohnan 

 found that among the fisherman of the north shore of Lake Superior 

 the names "highback whitefish" and "buffalo-back whitefish" were 

 applied to this fish; the name "bowback" or "bowback whitefish" was 

 heard by Mr. Wilcox in the eastern part of the same lake. 



This fish attains a larger size than any other whitefish of North 

 America. Examples weighing as much as 23 pounds, and possibly 

 more, have been taken in the upper lakes. Lake Superior has the 

 reputation of producing the largest fish. In all the lakes, however, 

 fish weighing 10 to 14 pounds are taken. The average size of those 

 obtained in the United States fisheries of the Great Lakes is probably 

 under 4 pounds, the fish taken in gill nets being somewhat larger than 

 those secured in traps. 



The habits and movements of this fish are better understood than 

 are those of any other American whitefish. It is chiefly to the late 

 Prof. J. W. Milner that we are indebted for our knowledge concerning 

 this fish in the Great Lakes. The results of his researches were origi- 

 nally published in the Eeport of the United States Commission of Fish 

 and Fisheries for 1872-73, and have since been extensively copied; we 

 refer to Milner's report for information on this subject. 



The whitefish reaches maturity at the age of three or four years, and 

 deposits from 10,000 to 75,000 eggs, the number depending on the size 

 of the fish. The spawning capacity can be approximately gauged by 

 allowing about 10,000 eggs for each pound of body weight. The spawn- 

 ing time is in the late fall, chiefly in the month of November. During 

 the summer they retire to the deeper portions of the lakes, but as the 

 time for spawning approaches they come into shoal water about the 

 islands and in the bays and coves. In Lake Ontario they first appear 

 on their spawning- grounds late in October and the season extends into 

 December. The principal spawning- grounds are in Chaumont Bay, 

 Three-mile Bay, and on the gravelly bars about the head of Fox Island 

 and across to Point Peninsula. The bottom selected seems to be of 

 gravel or of the peculiar rock known as "finger rock" or "honeycomb," 

 at a depth of 20 to 30 feet. In Lake Erie the principal spawning- 

 grounds are among the islands in the western end of the lake. 



