256 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



on the reef, and most of the others, are composed of four men each. 

 The catch on the reef amounts to between $400 and $500 worth of fish 

 annually. Gill-nets have been operated at the eastern end of the lake for 

 saugers during several seasons, but were first tried in this section in 

 the spring of 1885, During the short period when the fishery was pros- 

 ecuted it was very profitable, and the indications were that it would be- 

 come more extensive in future years. The saugers taken average 1 

 pound in weight and are sold chiefly in Port Clinton at 1 cent a pound. 



Seine fishery. — There are several Port Clinton crews fishing with 

 seines, some in the western end of Sandusky Bay, and others in the 

 Portage River. The seines used are 125 to 140 fathoms long, and from 

 12 to 16 feet deep. The season is from November to the 1st of April, 

 and during severe winters the seiues are fished under the ice most of 

 the time. The catch consists principally of bass, bull-heads, and sun- 

 fish, besides wall-eyed pike, grass-pike, perch, and saugers. Nearly all 

 of the fish taken are put into barrels and hauled on sleighs or wagons 

 to Port Clinton, where they are sold. This fishery is quite profitable 

 on account of the comparatively high price which can be obtained for 

 fish during the winter. 



Fyke-net fishery. — Three dozen fyke-nets are fished in the mouth 

 of Toussaint Creek in winter by the fishermen of that vicinity. The 

 fykes proper are 14 feet long, the hearts 27 feet, and the leaders 165 

 feet. The size of mesh is 3 inches in the leader and hearts, and 2 inches 

 in the fyke, or bowl. In Portage River forty fyke-nets are used near 

 the seining beaches, sometimes in winter but usually during the spring 

 and fall, by men who give most of their time to other fisheries. 



Set-line fishery. — About fifteen crews from Port Clinton and sev- 

 eral others from Locust Point fish for catfish, with set-lines, at a distance 

 of from 5 to 15 miles out in the lake. Small boats are used for lifting 

 the lines, and large sail-boats are hired or borrowed to run back and 

 forth between the shore and the fishing-grounds. The crews are com- 

 posed of three or four men, each of whom has a line with from six hun- 

 dred to a thousand hooks. About three-fourths of the men are profes- 

 sional fishermen, who fish with other kinds of apparatus during the 

 greater part of the year. The remainder are the owners of small farms 

 near the shore, to the cultivation of which they give their principal 

 attention. The year 1885 was a very poor one for this fishery, and the 

 products for the whole season were only about $75 worth per man, 

 which is not much more than half of the usual catch. The fish are all 

 sold at Port Clinton, at 2 cents per pound, round. 



89. SANDUSKY, ERIE COUNTY, AND VICINITY, INCLUDING SANDUSKY 

 COUNTY AND PART OF OTTAWA COUNTY, OHIO. 



Geographical description. — Passing east from Port Clinton we enter 

 upon the region of the most important fisheries of the Great Lakes, those 

 tributary to the city of Sandusky. This region falls naturally into four 



