198 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



The leaders are placed, respectively, in 18, 30, and 40 feet of water. 

 The pot is 24 feet square, and the mesh varies from 3£ inches in the 

 lead to 2J inches in the pot. The nets are fished in the spring from 

 May 20 to July 25, and about September 10 they are returned to the 

 water, where they remain till there is danger from the ice, which is 

 usually about the 1st of December. No pound-net fishing had been car- 

 ried on under the ice prior to 1885, but fishermen from Mackinaw City 

 designed making a trial of this method in the winter of 1885-'86. 



Gill-net fishery. — The gill-net fishing is of very small proportions, and 

 in 1885 there were only two crews, one fishing in Cecil Bay and the 

 other in Big Stone Bay. One crew were Canadians and the other crew 

 half-breeds. Most of the nets used are about 165 feet long and 14 meshes 

 deep, with a 5J-inch mesh, but several of the number are herring-nets 

 of a lj-inch mesh. The gill-net fishing is carried on from the breaking 

 up of the ice in the spring until it forms again in the fall. No gill-nets 

 are fished under the ice. 



Seine fishery. — No seines were used previous to the spring of 1885 ? 

 when one was fished for suckers near Callam's Mills by a crew of five 

 men iu the early part of May, during the first two weeks after the ice 

 had disappeared. The seine was 165 feet long by 5 to 8 feet deep, with 

 a 4-inch mesh. The total catch was 75 packages, which were sold at 

 $1.75 a package. 



Trout-spearing. — About a dozen men, mostly Indian half-breeds, but 

 including several Americans, fish for trout with spears from the middle 

 of January to April 15. The better class have a small shanty, with a 

 hole in the bottom and a little stove in one corner. This they carry 

 upon a sled to the fishing station, and cut a hole in the ice immediately 

 under the central aperture. The spear, which has an iron head with 

 from five to seven prongs, is secured by a long cord to the top of the 

 shanty, so that when the fish is speared his escape is rendered almost 

 impossible. Many of the spearmen do not go to the expense of provid- 

 ing themselves with a hut, but simply build a little fire upon the ice and 

 use a blanket as a wind-break. 



Other fisheries. — Hand-line fishing, or " snatching," as it is locally 

 called, is practiced little, if any, at present, although the Indians have 

 sometimes fished considerably in this way through the ice, using a 

 u coop ?? or blanket for shelter, as the spearmen do. No trammel-nets 

 or fykes have been used in the region. Several years ago a few set- 

 lines were tried, but with no success, and in 1885 none were used. 



Statistics. — In 1885 the total number of fishermen for this coast, in- 

 cluding Mackinaw City, was 6 professional, 32 semi-professional, and 

 3 preparators. The capital invested amounted to $2,690, and the prod- 

 ucts were 39,000 pounds of fresh fish and 14,500 pounds of salt fish, 

 having a value of $1,563. 



Trade. — The entire catch was bought and shipped at Mackinaw City, 

 where fish are purchased both from the fishermen of Lake Michigan 



