182 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



The yield of the fisheries amounted to 135,904 pounds, including 

 96,145 pounds of whitefish, 31,084 pounds of trout, 4,500 pounds of her- 

 ring, 2,075 pounds of sturgeon, and 100 pounds of pike; also 2,000 

 poounds of salt whitefish. The value of the catch was $5,864. No 

 caviare, isinglass, or oil was made in this section in 1885. The fisher- 

 men ship their own fish, most of which go to Chicago by steamer. 



The town of Manistee. — The town of Manistee is situated between 

 Lake Michigan and Manistee Lake, in the southern part of Manistee 

 County. It has a population of about 11,000, who are chiefly engaged 

 in lumbering. 



Past and present importance of Manistee fisheries. — The fishery inter- 

 ests of the place appear to be on the decline, although as compared with 

 1879 there was an actual increase in 1885 as regards the number of per- 

 sons employed, the amount of capital invested, and the total quantity 

 of fish taken. The increase in the first two respects, however, was 

 more than commensurate with the augmentation of the catch. 



Pound-net fishing prevented by sawdust and drift-wood. — Owing to the 

 great amount of saw-dust, logs, and drift-wood occurring in the waters 

 of the lake in the vicinity of Manistee, it has been found impracticable 

 to carry on the pound-net fishery, which otherwise would be a profitable 

 one. The obstructions mentioned have wrecked and torn the nets to such 

 an extent that more money was required to keep them in repair than 

 could be obtained for their catch even were there no such drawbacks. 



Gill-net fishery of Manistee. — Gill-nets are the apparatus in most gen- 

 eral use, six hundred and fifty-eight being fished in 1885. These are 

 somewhat interferred with by logs aud drift- wood, but being set far 

 from shore and below the surface of the lake, they do not suffer so mate- 

 rially from drift stuff as pound-nets would. The average earnings of 

 gill-nets was only $4 or $5, although the more fortunate or energetic fish- 

 erman had a considerably larger stock. One steamer fished from Man- 

 istee during a portion of 1885, but was at Frankfort from June 20 until 

 November 1 ; it carried a crew of five men, and fished 300 gill-nets. 



Statistics of the apparatus and capital in Manistee fisheries. — Four 

 seines, 1,400 feet long and valued at $320, fishing at the mouth of the 

 Manistee River stocked about $200 on whitefish. Set-lines of the length 

 of 59,200 feet, with 7,600 hooks, worth $70, fished in the fall and winter 

 months for perch, complete the list of apparatus. The accessory appa- 

 ratus included a fishing steamer already referred to, valued at $2,000; 

 6 gill-net boats, valued at $315 ; 3 other boats, valued at $35 ; miscel- 

 laneous apparatus worth $100, and wharves and buildings valued at 

 $2,465. The total capital invested in the fisheries was $10,361. 



Products of Manistee fisheries. — Whitefish and trout are caught in 

 gill-nets, and limited quantities of the former species of small size are 

 also taken in haul-seines. The catch in 1885 was valued at $3,370, and 

 consisted of 45,300 pounds of fresh whitefish, 3,900 pounds of salt white- 

 fish, 22,875 pounds of trout, and 6,100 pounds of perch. No other kinds 

 were taken. 





