notify violators of the law of the penalties attached to such viola- 

 tion and warn them apjainst the use of all illegal devices, and, so 

 far as possible, we attempted to stop the use of nets. 



We do not favor any discrimination as against any particular 

 class of citizens in the enforcement of the laws for the protection 

 of fish, and are inclined to believe that the fishermen have rights 

 and should have an opportunity of making a living by their avo- 

 cation, yet, at the same time, the general public, who depend 

 upon natural resources for food, are entitled to the protection of 

 the law in guarding against the total elimination of such food 

 supplies from the waters of the State. 



As a rule, the fishermen who operate the nets and seines are 

 but employes of firms and companies who own the outfits, and are 

 either paid by the day as laborers or have a percentage of the 

 fish caught, giving their labor as an offset to the use of the seines 

 and nets used in the business. The appliances most commonly 

 used are the wing net, hoop net (with bait), hoop net set, with 

 wings and leads; pound net, basket, seine and trammel net, and in 

 order to give a fair idea of the nature and extent of their use, we 

 will give a brief statement as to how and where each is used. 



The wing net is commonly used in "winging off," or shutting off 

 a slough to prevent fish from coming out of the lakes and sloughs 

 into the river. The wing usually has an opening at or near its 

 center, which leads into a large hoop net, arranged with a funnel- 

 shaped contrivance so that all fish passing into it are secured. 



The net is raised at stated intervals during the day, the fish 

 taken out and the net dropped back to continue its work. The 

 net shutting off the slough is usually an old seine, held in place 

 by stakes driven into the muddy bottom, and forms a fence, as it 

 were, across the mouth of the slough. These sloughs are usually 

 the outlet to a lake, and frequently to a chain of lakes, into which 

 the fish run when the river is rising and during high water, and 

 as the water declines they run back into the river again. It can 

 be readily se 'n that it is simply an impossibility for a single fish 

 to re-enter the river while such obstructions are in place. Where 

 more than one outlet exists, each is shut off in the same manner. 

 Of all the devices used this is the most pernicious, and against it 

 we have used every means in our power, removing such obstruc- 

 tions wherever found, and where owners could be found they were 

 duly warned against replacing them. If, after such warning, they 

 were again found in the waters, they were taken up by our 

 wardens, and where ownership could be proven we followed by 

 prosecution. 



The set nets, with wings and leads, are made very muclj like 

 the old-fashioned quail net, a series of hoops running from six 

 feet in diameter to two or three feet, covered by a web, and a 

 funnel inserted, making an entrance easy, but preventing entirely 

 the escape of fish when once in the net. From each side of the 

 hoops, at an angle of about forty-five degrees, is placed a wing, 

 usually a piece of old seine, hung on stakes so as to guide fish 



