FISHERIES OF THE GREAT LAKES IN 1885. 



183 



Importance of Portage Lalce fisheries. — Portage Lake is 6 miles north of 

 Manistee. It is 3 miles long and a mile wide. Onekama is the only 

 place of any size on its shores. A few fishermen live there, bnt the 

 great body of them are at Williarnsport, where the lake empties into 

 Lake Michigan j here there are fifty-two people — all fishermen or de- 

 pendent on the fisheries. The fisheries carried on from Portage Lake 

 are more important than those at either Ludiugton or Manistee, although 

 at the former place there are more men employed and at the latter more 

 capital invested. 



Apparatus and methods of Portage Lalce fisheries.— One steamer at Por- 

 tage Lake fished 250 gill-nets, one pound- net, and several set-lines in 

 1885, taking $1,000 worth of whitefish, trout, and perch. 



There were also 505 other gill-nets and one other pound-net oper- 

 ated by the fishermen in addition to a small amount of set-lines. The 

 pound-nets were not very profitable, yielding only about $240 each. 



The gill-net fishing grounds are about 15 miles from the shore. On 

 certain reefs, about 4 miles from Portage Lake, there are trout spawn- 

 ing beds. This fact probably accounts for the greater abundance of 

 trout at this point than at either Ludington or Manistee. The white- 

 fish taken here averaged from 1 J to 2 pounds ; they were about as 

 abundant as at Ludington and Manistee. 



Statistics of Portage Lake fisheries. — Fourteen professional and 5 semi- 

 professional fishermen were employed at Portage Lake in 1885, on whom 

 33 persons were dependent. They possessed apparatus worth $8,569. It 

 consisted of 1 fishing steamer, 8 gill-net boats, 4 other boats, 755 

 whitefish and trout gill-nets, 247,100 feet in length; 2 pound-nets, and 

 32,500 feet of set- lines with 4,500 hooks. 



The yield was 171,818 pounds of fresh fish and 24,460 pounds of salt 

 fish valued at $7,959. The catch was made up of 95,520 pounds of white- 

 fish, 68,098 pounds of trout, 7,000 pounds of sturgeon, 1,000 pounds 

 of perch, and 200 pounds of pike; the salt fish consisted of 22,760 

 poundsl)f trout, 1,000 pounds of sturgeon, and 700 pounds of whitefish. 



Disposition of products. — The fish are first sent to Manistee in a small 

 steamer, whence they go to Chicago. The salt fish are for home con- 

 sumption chiefly. 



Statistical recapitulation. — The following is a complete recapitulation 

 of the fisheries of Ludington, Manistee, and Portage Lake, the tables 

 representing, respectively, men, apparatus, capital, and products : 



Table of persons employed in the fisheries of Mason and Manistee Counties in 1885. 



«h 



Profes- 

 sional fish- 

 ermen. 



Semi-pro- 

 fessional 

 fishermen. 



Shoresmen 



and prepar- 



ators. 



Persons 

 dependont. 



Ludington 



15 

 15 

 14 



9 

 2 

 5 



2 

 1 



57 



Manistee 



34 



Portage Lake 



33 











Total 



44 



16 



3 



124 



