46 AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY. 



water, and fish all summer ; tlien, as the fish move up toward 

 the head of the lake to the spawning grounds, the nets are 

 moved right along with the runs, so that they are hunted almost 

 the year round, which is done with no other kind of fish." 



Harry Molyneux, of Sandusky, gives some valuable testi- 

 mony : "Am a practical gill-net fisherman. A few years ago 

 fishing on the island reefs got so poor that I gave up going- 

 there ; but in the fall of 1S82 I tried it again, and did very well- 

 In the fall of 1883 I caught double the amount of vvhitefish I 

 did the fall before ; and this last fall I caught almost twice as 

 many as in 1883. 



I credit all the increase to hatching and planting, and would 

 like to see more hatcheries." 



William Rehberg, pound-net fisherman, of Middle Bass 

 Island, says : "Think the hatching a good thing, but the plant- 

 ing has not been properly done long enough to tell really how 

 much benefit it is toward keeping up the supply of whitefish. 

 Think the supply could be kept up in Lake Erie by prohibiting 

 gill- net fishing west of Kelly's Island, which would give the fish 

 a chance to breed on the natural spawning reefs, where the gill- 

 nets are now placed." 



Caspar Voight, of Sandusky, says • "My catch of whitefish in 

 the past two seasons was as follow : 1883, from thirty-five 

 pound-nets, thirty-seven tons ; 1884, from thirty-five pound-nets, 

 forty-five tons. 



" I have not thought much about the hatching business, but it 

 must do some good ; at least there seems to be an increase in 

 whitefish the past two or three years." 



Simon Schact, of Sandusky, says : " My catch for the past two 

 seasons is as follows : 1883, forty-two pound-nets, forty tons 

 whitefish ; 1884, forty-eight pound-nets, fifty tons whitefish. 



" I believe the planting of fry to be a good thing, and the only 

 way the fishing can be kept up. I fear, however, that the way 

 the gill-netters are catching them, and going on the breeding 

 grounds and disturbing them while spawning, will do more harm 

 than the hatcheries can do good. The fishermen down at Erie 

 and Dunkirk receive the most benefit from the planting, as they 



