380 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 



not absorb any large quantities of hardhead, so the price can be 

 maintained only by holding the catch to a low level. 



TABLE 1— PRICES PAID TO FISHERMEN 



The average price paid to California fishermen for the several species of fresh- 

 water fish. The low price paid for hardhead in 1933 was due to large scale opera- 

 tions of seiners in Clear Lake and to the fact tliat much of the hardhead was 

 marketed dead rather than alive as usual (see text). 



Average price Average price Average price 

 per lb. per lb. per lb. 



Species 1926-29 1930 1933 



Catfish* $0.14 $0,135 $0,115 



Hardhead .11 .13 .05 



Pike .04 .OG .05 



Sucker .03 .05 .01 



Split-tail .05 .03 .01 



Carp .02 .02 .01 



♦Price given for catfish only is the price paid for dressed fish ; to obtain a value 

 comparable to other species, divide above price by two. 



The split-tail, Sacramento pike and sucker are unimportant, 

 although good prices are occasionally paid for small quantities of them 

 when alive. The Chinese of the valley and bay regions are the princi- 

 pal consumers of these fish. 



Besides the recorded catch of these fish delivered to wholesale 

 dealers, there are tons of freshwater fish caught and sold direct to the 

 consumer. The ranchers and others who live near the fishing grounds 

 buy quantities of dressed catfish from the fishermen. The managers 

 and cooks of the Chinese and Filipino ranch gangs, working in the 

 neighborhood of the river, buy their fish direct from the fishermen. 

 They purchase both dressed and live catfish and live rough fish. The 

 amounts thus sold are considerable, and the money realized by their 

 sale is an important item. 



Only the adult rough fish are used for food. The young of the 

 hardhead, Sacramento pike, split-tail, and of another minnow or chub, 

 Lavinia exilicauda, are used as live bait by striped bass and black bass 

 sport fishermen in the river region. Many commercial fishermen make 

 some additional money by catching and selling small minnows for bait. 

 They catch them in baited traps and keep them alive until sold. Dur- 

 ing the summer when the commercial catfish season is closed the sale 

 of minnows is almost a necessity for some of the fishermen. 



The universally used type of gear in the river district is a baited 

 trap known as the fyke net. This net is used for tlie capture of all the 

 species of freshwater fish. Some carp are caught in the shad, bass and 

 salmon gill nets in the lower river, but there is no regular gill net 

 fishery for freshwater fish. In the old days, beach seines M^ere 

 employed in Washington Lake and enormous catches were sometimes 

 made at one haul. At present beach seines are illegal in the river 

 region. 



The fishermen who take catfish are located along the Sacramento 

 River from Courtland to the mouth, and on the rivers and sloughs 

 between Stockton and the Sacramento River. Each has his own terri- 

 tory, including several miles of river and slough, which is conceded to 

 him by the unwritten consent of the other fishermen. Most of the 



