FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES IN 1885. 163 



Tbe capital invested in this fishery in 18S5 was $23,570, of which 

 $9,100 was for steamers, $8,470 for gill-nets, and $0,000 for shore prop- 

 erty, accessories and fixtures, and floating capital. Eight shoresmen 

 were also employed in the fishery, in additiou to the fishermen already 

 referred to. The catch in 1885 amounted to 208,600 pounds, of which 

 100,000 pounds were whitefish and 102,600 pounds were trout. The 

 value of the yield was $10,530. These figures include the catch of the 

 set-lines used by the steamer fishermen, which amounted to 10,000 

 pounds of trout, valued at $500. All of the fish were sold fresh, prin- 

 cipally in Chicago, about one-fourth being disposed of locally. 



Set-lines. — In May, as soon as the days are long enough to admit of 

 tending both gill-nets and set-lines, the latter are occasionally set while 

 the steamers are running out to haul their nets. The lines have from 

 four hundred to six hundred hooks placed 6 feet apart which are baited 

 with ciscoes that have been caught by the mouth in the gill-nets. Trout 

 averaging 10 pounds in weight are the only fish taken. No lines are 

 set after the middle of July. 



Haul-seines — Three of these were fished at Kenosha during the months 

 of March and April, 1885. They were from 80 to 100 fathoms long, and 

 were valued at $60 each. The catch, which consisted chiefly of suckers, 

 was partly shipped to Chicago and the remainder sold locally. The 

 value of the fish was only about $100. 



Fyke-nets and trammel nets. — The catch of six small fyke- nets which are 

 set in Kenosha harbor in the early spring is made up of perch and bull- 

 heads, which are eaten by the fishermen and their families. Only about 

 1,500 pounds were taken in 1885, valued at $48. 



One trammel-net is set along the outer beach in spring for suckers, 

 and the fishermen go out in a boat, one rowing and the other frighten- 

 ing the fish into the net by striking the bottom. The catch is insig- 

 nificant. 



History of the pound-net fishery. — In 1862 a fisherman began to use 

 pound-nets at Kenosha ; but he left the vicinity about 1876. Another 

 man afterwards engaged in this fishery for two years, and a third fish- 

 erman had five pounds in operation in 1880, but suspended business at 

 the end of the year. The last pound-nets used in the locality were set 

 in 1881. The species principally caught in the pound-nets was the 

 perch. Whitefish and trout were seldom taken. 



55. WAUKEGAN, LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS. 



Geographical description. — Waukegan, the principal city of Lake 

 County, 111., is situated about 35 miles north of Chicago and 50 miles 

 south of Milwaukee. Its inhabitants, numbering 6,000, are principally 

 engaged in mercantile business in Chicago and in manufacturing. 



History of the fisheries. — Waukegan is the only place between Chi- 

 cago and Kenosha from which fishing is carried on. The early fishing 

 was prosecuted with gill-nets, which have since gone entirely out of 



