178 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Montague and its fisher men. — The fisheries of Montague are very sim- 

 ilar to those of Muskegon. The town itself is on a small lake some dis- 

 tance from Lake Michigan, and the fishermen make their headquarters 

 at the mouth of White Lake, where there is a good harbor. Mon- 

 tague has 2,500 inhabitants, who are largely interested in lumbering, 

 while the fisheries, although increasing, are as yet of minor importance. 



The fishermen, of whom there were thirty -five in 1885, are Americans, 

 Germans, Danes, Irish, and Norwegians, the first predominating. 



Pound-net fishing from Montague. — Pound-nets were principally used 

 in 1885, twenty-eight of them being set. Each gang has its own local- 

 ity, and occupies about the same grounds from year to year. Pounds 

 are usually set by May 1 and remain in the water till October or the 

 1st of November. The water in which the poles are driven is shallow, 

 with sand or clay bottom. 



Apparatus and capital in Montague fisheries. — There were employed in 

 the fisheries of Montague in 1885 3 fishing steamers, worth $6,500, and 

 8 gill-net and 39 pound-net and other boats, with a combined value of 

 $1,347. The apparatus of capture consisted of 305 gill-nets, with a 

 length of 158,905 feet, valued at $2,341; 2 seines, 562 feet long, $50; 

 28 pound-nets, $5,075; 2 fyke-nets, $20, and 268,000 feet of set-lines, 

 with 27,700 hooks, $250. The wharves and buildings had a value of 

 $660, and the fixtures and accessories a value of $637. The total 

 amount of capital invested in the fisheries was $16,880. 



Products. — Sturgeon is the most profitable species taken here. It is 

 caught with set-lines and in pound-nets, only one gill-net being em- 

 ployed in 1885. The average weight of the dressed sturgeon was about 

 33 pounds. The catch in 1885 amounted to 98,798 pounds, of which 

 3,000 pounds were smoked. The fish were worth about 5 cents a pound 

 in 1885. The foregoing quantity yielded 3,800 pounds of roe, which 

 sold at from 3J to 4 cents a pound, and 850 swim-bladders, worth 5 

 cents each. 



Neither whitefish nor trout were abundant, but both were of large 

 s ize, averaging 5 or 6 pounds each. They were taken in gill-nets and 

 pound-nets, 24,153 pounds of the former and 17,474 pounds of the latter 

 being landed in 1885. Three hundred pounds of trout were smoked. 



Herring are not abundant, only 16,460 pounds being caught. Of this 

 quantity 500 pounds were smoked. They are taken only in pound nets, 

 no gill-nets for herring being used in this place. 



The other kinds of fish occurring in this section are perch and pike, 

 of which 4,667 pounds and 1,975 pounds, respectively, were caught. 



The total value of the products was $6,596. 



Secondary products. — One firm from Sandusky, Ohio, made caviare, 

 isinglass, and oil at Montague, and 1,425 pounds of caviare, 150 pounds 

 of isinglass, and 315 gallons of oil were manufactured. These prepared 

 products sold for $460. 



