64 FRESH-WATER BIOLOGY 



stake and the anchor dispensed with. Fykes are usually set across 

 the mouth of a small bay or inlet but may be placed anywhere. 

 In running water the net may face either up or down stream. It 

 may be necessary to set a row of stakes across the stream above 

 the net to catch drift wood. When fish attempt to enter the bay 

 or inlet across which the net is set, they follow the wings of the 

 fyke and enter the pot from which they are unable to escape. 

 The net may be left set for a long time and the fish taken from it 

 at intervals by lifting the pot and loosening the draw string. The 

 wings of a fyke may be from fifteen to fifty feet long according to 

 its location, but for brook use fykes are made without wings. 



FIG. 9 Showing one end of a gill net as set when used in the cod fishery on the Massachusetts Coast, 

 i, end of the net. 2, anchor line. 3, anchor. 4, buoy line. 5, buoy. (After Goode.) 



The fyke is an excellent net for catching turtles, but should then 

 be modified as indicated in the section on turtles (p. 66). 



(d) Gill nets are made of very fine cotton or linen twine and of 

 various meshes. Inch or two-inch square mesh and a length of 

 one hundred or one hundred and fifty feet are useful for collecting. 

 The nets are intended to be left out for days, at least, on the 

 bottom in deep water. They stand upright in the water (Fig. 9) 

 and the fish strike them usually at night and become entangled in 

 the meshes, so that they are commonly dead when the nets are 

 lifted. 



A small rope of at least the length of the net is attached to one 

 end of the cork line and a stone or other heavy weight to serve as 

 an anchor is made fast to the other end of the rope. The anchor 



