230 REPORT OE COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
43. FISHERIES OF THE WILLAMETTE RIVER. 
Geographical characteristics. — The Willamette is formed by the Mc- 
Kenzie River and Middle Fork, which rise in the Cascade range of 
mountains and unite about 5 miles north of Eugene City, in Lane 
County. From its confluence the river flows in a northerly direction 
and forms the boundary line between Linn and Marion Counties on the 
right, and Benton, Polk, and Yam Hill on the left. Finally it intersects 
Clackamas and Multnomah Counties and empties into the Columbia 
River about 13 miles north of Portland, traversing a distance, from the 
source of the Middle Fork to its mouth, of about 300 miles. The river 
is navigable as far as Oregon City, 13 miles above Portland, at which 
town there is an obstruction in the form of falls about 40 feet high. 
Steam vessels ply on the river from above the falls to Eugene City, 
about 200 miles above its mouth. 
Importance of the fisheries. — The fisheries of this river are confined 
almost entirely to the pursuit of salmon, although a few barrels of lam- 
prey eels are annually taken at the falls near Oregon City, and salted 
for use as bait in the sturgeon fishery on the Columbia River. 
No account has been made of the fishing on the river between the falls 
at Oregon City and Eugene City, nor between Portland and the mouth 
of the river, because in the first instance no commercial fishery is 
carried on, and in the second case the same men employed on the 
Willamette also fish on the Columbia, and on account of the intricacy 
of the problem and slight importance of the industry it is not deemed 
desirable to separate the catch. 
Species , seasons , etc.— The salmon in the Willamette are the same as 
those in the Columbia. Oregon pike, suckers, whitefish, and lamprey 
eels also occur. Salmon are the most important species, and, with the 
exception of a few eels, no other fish are caught. During April and May 
the catch is confined chiefly to the quinnat salmon, and after that steel- 
heads and bluebacks are caught in greater numbers. In the spring of 
1889 the run of salmon was greater than for many years, and during 
the month of April the catch was larger than for the whole of the pre- 
ceding year. This abundance was attributed by the fishermen to unus- 
ually fine weather and a favorable condition of the water. 
Fishing grounds. — The account of the fisheries embraced within this 
description applies only to the Willamette between Portland and Oregon 
City, as well as to the fisheries at the mouth of the Clackamas, the 
same men taking fish indiscriminately in both rivers. From the falls 
at Oregon City to the source of the stream, no commercial fishing is 
prosecuted, and while many local species, as trout,' Oregon pike, etc., 
are abundant along the whole length of the stream, no fishing grounds 
of commercial importance are found. The grounds below Portland as 
far as the mouth of the river are not considered here, because the men 
who operate on the Columbia also fish on the lower reaches of the Wil- 
