258 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
spring and jack salmon, and a few sockeyes [0. nerka ]. This trap was set in 22 feet 
of water, and had a 900-foot leader. The diagrams of the traps set at Point Roberts 
in 1889 will show the form. 
The little trap off Birch Bay Head worked so well that I determined to set a larger 
one at Point Roberts for the sockeye run, which begins about the 1st of July. This 
action was taken notwithstanding the late Captain Waller had been experimenting 
for 12 years with traps at the point for the purpose of taking the sockeye salmon, aud 
had been successful only one season, when fish were so plentiful that there was no 
market for them. The stories of those who saw his trap fishing do not agree. 
It may also be stated that Scotch salmon traps, set with buoys and anchors, Nova * 
Scotia traps, and several other styles, are being tried here every season without 
success; in fact, they are total failures. 
I had fished for sockeyes on the reef off Point Roberts the previous season, and 
thought my style of trap would work. The first one put down was set in 27 feet of 
water, and was so placed that it would take the fish before they went over the reef. 
It worked all right, except the tunnel. The fish would follow the leader aud go into 
the hearts, but would not enter the pot. The water was very clear, and the bottom 
could be seen at low tide. I thought the tunnel was too small for clear water, though 
it worked well in March and April, when the wind was blowing most of the time and 
the water was muddy. 
The run of salmon was very small that year ; my catch was about 3,000 fish, which 
was not satisfactory. The next'year (1889) I put in 740 yards of leader, with, two 
sets of hearts and two pots [see diagram, plate xliv]. But fish came so thick that 
more salmon were caught in one pot than could be taken care of ; therefore the outside 
net was taken up. 
The salmon work into Boundary Bay on high water during the night and go over 
the reef on the ebb tide. When the run was the heaviest I would open the trap for 
2 or 3 hours on the first of the long ebb and would take from 4,000 to 6,000 salmon. 
That being more fish than could be taken care of the traps were sometimes closed 
for 2 days. If the fish could have been taken care of it is probable that the catch 
would have averaged 10.000 salmon per day, which was quite an improvement on 
the results of the previous year. The only change made in the construction of the 
nets was that larger tunnels were put in. 
The run began July 12 and continued until September 2. It was the heaviest and 
longest run of sockeyes known for years. With my traps and the reef nets there 
were about 150,000 sockeye salmon taken at Point Roberts for the season of 1889. 
The most of these fish went to the Fraser River ; about 30,000 went to a small cannery 
on the American side, and some were salted. The average price paid by the canneries 
was 9 cents per fish. 
A few Indians fish for sockeyes on Stuart Island ; their catch was small and was 
salted. * 
The fall run of cohoes or silver salmon was very small (in 1889), both on Puget 
Sound and in the Gulf of Georgia. The catch in the gulf was about 50,000 fish that 
were canned and 150 barrels salted. I fished one trap 15 days for cohoes and caught 
about 4,000 salmon. I will remark here that the cohoes run in schools, and do not 
travel nearly so fast as sockeyes; consequently they can not be so readily taken 
with a trap net. I have known as many as 8,000 of this species to be taken at one 
haul with a purse seine. The sockeye salmon does not school after coming into the 
Gulf of Georgia, therefore it can not be taken in large numbers with a seine. It seems 
to be continually on the move. When fish of this species are reported opposite Vic- 
toria we expect them at Point Robertsin 3 or 4 days, though the places are separated 
a distance of 65 miles. 
The principal drawbacks to trap-net fishiug in salt water are the following : First, 
large quantities of floating seaweed drift into the nets and this has to be removed 
and carried to the shore in boats ; second^, hair seals, dogfish, and sturgeon frequently 
