272 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



92. LORAIN AND CUYAHOGA COUNTIES, OHIO. 



General observations. — The fisheries of Lorain County are not very 

 important, and are naturally grouped with those of Cuyahoga County, 

 as they are all tributary to the city of Cleveland and largely controlled 

 by the dealers there. 



There are no villages or settlements between Vermillion and Lorain, 

 although the region is thickly settled. 



Pound-net fishery. — Fishing is carried on principally with pound-nets 

 operated or controlled by well-to do farmers whose lands border the 

 lake shore. In 1885 there were seven stands, or stations, with fifty- 

 nine pound-nets, which were set in from 24 to 45 feet of water, in strings 

 of two to six nets each. The first fishery was 4 miles east of Vermil- 

 lion and 6 miles west of Lorain ; the last of the seven was 2 miles 

 farther east. The owners of the five fisheries nearest the county line 

 resided near Brownhelm Station ; the other two at North Amherst and 

 Lorain, respectively. 



The fishery at Beaver Creek was the only one of the seven at which 

 there was a harbor of any kind. At all others the fish-boats were 

 hauled on the beach alongside the fish-house before unloading by 

 means of a winch turned by hand-power. 



Mr. Leidheiser, who began fishing pound-nets here in 1858, states 

 that the first one between Lorain and Vermillion was set in 1856. 



Other fisheries. — There were two gill-net crews from Brownhelm Sta- 

 tion, one fishing fourteen nets in the fall, and the other forty nets both 

 in fall and spring. The gill-nets used here were 25 fathoms long and 5J 

 feet deep. One of the crews employed a steamer and the other a sail- 

 boat. There was also a very little catfish fishing with set lines. 



Abundance of whitefish. — Whitefish are not so abundant here as for- 

 merly, but a considerably greater number were taken in the spring of 

 1885 than in 1884, or during the two or three years immediately preceding. 



Disposition of products. — Each of the fishery owners has a good fish- 

 house for icing and salting ; but there is no freezing done. The fish 

 are hauled for shipment to one of the two railroads which here run 

 nearly parallel with the lake shore from 1 to 3 miles back. 



Caviare. — A man at the North Amherst fishery purchased sturgeon 

 roe from other fisheries between Lorain and Vermillion for the purpose 

 of making caviare. He paid at the rate of 10 cents for the roe of each 

 fish. Twenty packages were prepared in 1884 and thirty in 1885, con- 

 taining 140 pounds each. 



The town of Lorain. — Lorain is situated on the Black Eiver, which 

 furnishes a good harbor, admitting the largest craft, and its lake com- 

 merce is extensive, while two railroads furnish excellent shipping facili- 

 ties. The fisheries, however, are of comparatively little importance. 

 Two firms fish three pound-nets each, and there is a single crew of gill- 

 net fishermen with twenty nets, 45 fathoms long by 5£ feet deep. The 

 gill-net crew goes to North Bass Island iu the late tall to fish for white- 



