D. — THE FISHING-GROUNDS OF THE GEEAT LAKES. 



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By Ludwig Kumlien and Fredeeick W. Tkub. 

 19. LAKE SUPERIOR. 



On account of the peculiar nature of tlie flslieries of the Great Lakes, the fishing-grounds are 

 all located ^mparatively near shore. In considering them, we shall begin at the western end of 

 Lake Superior, and proceed eastward and southward toward the eastern end of Lake Ontario. 



Isle Eoyale to Keweenaw Point. — Gill-net grounds of considerable importance extend 

 almost without a break along the northwestern aiid southern shores of Lake Superior, from Isle 

 Eoyale to within a few miles of Keweenaw Point, a distance of more than three hundred miles. 

 The bottom is everywhere clayey, except about the Apostle Islands, where it is sandy and rocky. 

 On the northwest shore of the lake, the depth of water at the outer limit of the grounds varies 

 from eighty to one hundred and forty fathoms, but on the south shore it is much less, being not 

 greater than eighty fathoms at any point. 



The grounds on the northwest shore are visited by Duluth fishermen in the fall. They fish 

 commonly about forty-five miles from the village, but frequently, go forty or fifty miles further 

 north. In the spring and summer they set their nets at different points along the south shore, 

 between Duluth and the Apostle Islands, but in the earlier part of the season they fish mostly 

 at a station about twenty miles east of the village. 



A portion of the grounds, extending eastward from the Apostle Islands one hundred and 

 twenty -five miles, is visited by the fishermen of Bayfield and Ashland; The most favorable 

 localities are off Iron Eiver and Little Girl's Point, and in the vicinity of the Porcupine^Mountains 

 and Sleeping Eiver. Different stations from Bark Eiver to beyond Ontonagon are occupied at 

 different times, according to the season and the movements of the fish. In the fall the nets 

 are removed from the south shore and carried across the lake to Isle Eoyale. 



The pound-net grounds of this district are located among the Apostle Islands and in the 

 immediate vicinity. Other portions of the coast are too much exposed to the violence of storms, 

 and in other respects are unsuitable for pound fishing. We may except, however, the sandy bar 

 near the entrance to Superior Oity, where, in 1879, two pounds were located. During the same 

 year one. pound was set in Bark Bay, three in Siskowit Bay, sixteen among the Apostle Islands, 

 mainly inshore, and from the islands nearest the mainland, and seven on the south side of the 

 long sandy bar at the entrance of Chaquamegon Bay. 



The most westerly seining-grounds of the lakes are at Superior City and Fond du Lac. In the 

 former locality a very little seining for whiteflsh is prosecuted late in the fall. At Fond du Lac, 

 at the head of Saint Louis Bay, the seining is more extensive, but the catch consists entirely of 

 pike. There are many seining-reaches farther to the eastward, between Bark Eiver and Bayfield, 

 particularly in the smaller bays and among the islands, but the grounds are changed so often 

 that it is quite impossible to locate them accurately. Bark Point, however, may be mentioned as 

 one of the most favorable localities. 



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