Smelts 



fish. Millions of pounds are sold in the 

 markets, being mostly caught by nets dur- 

 ing or just before the spawning season. 

 This practice, if done to most fish, would 

 lead to their rapid extinction, but the smelt 

 is so prolific that one female will contain 

 as many as 300,000 spawn, the greater part 

 of which mature, through the habit of 

 breeding in fresh water. 



The method of fishing through the ice 

 is similar to that of fishing for perch and 

 pickerel, the common garden worm being 

 mostly used for that purpose. 



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