92 Thirtieth Annual Meeting 



logs, and brush ha\e acciiiinilated as the result of flooding for 

 logging piu'poses or otherwise. 



To catch the fish as they approach their spawning grounds is 

 the strategy employed by the fish eultnrist ; for it would be im- 

 possible to set a net where they spawn. For this purpose we now 

 use only fyke nets, and as the fish are taken from the nets each 

 day, if unripe, they are transferred ao the retaining pen until 

 such time as the spawn may be taken from them. 



It is not altogether an easy matter to collect a large number 

 of muskellunge from our waters for spaw^ning purposes; as it is 

 necessary to cover considerable territory with our nets, setting 

 them on the api)roaches to as many spawning grounds as possi- 

 ble. j\Iany fish caught in this way are transferred four or five 

 miles from the point where they are caught to the retaining pen. 



In transporting the fish from point to point we use large live 

 boxes (so called) sixteen feet long, two feet wide and ten inches 

 deep. These boxes are made scow shape to facilitate towing 

 them. The l)ottoms of the l)oxes are made of slats, nailed two 

 inches apart, giving abundant circulation of water and enal)ling 

 us to safely transport the fish in tow of a row boat to any reason- 

 able distance. 



During the season just past we secured 190 muskellunge 

 from which we took 1,300,000 eggs ; one female, weighing about 

 forty pounds, producing not less than 225,000 ova. A quart 

 measure will contain about 80,000 muskellunge ova. 



Unlike most other fish, the eggs of the muskellunge do not 

 harden after being taken from the fish but remain soft and 

 flal)l)y until hatched. With water at a temperature of fifty-two 

 degrees the eggs hatch in about ten days, and about fifteen days 

 are required to alisorb the food sac. 



Heretofore, we were not in position to try hatching muskel- 

 lunge eggs in jars. This year our work was conducted in the 

 vicinity of the Minocqua Hatchery, and I placed part of the eggs 

 in Chase hatching jars at this station. The remainder, l)eing 

 more than half tlie eggs, was ])ut in hatching boxes and sunk in 

 some four fei't of water. We hatched a very small per cent in 

 boxes, but were more svu-cessful with the eggs incubated in jars. 

 Just before the eggs began to hatch, we took them from the jars 

 and ])laced them on trays nuuh' of fine wire-cloth. This was 



