278 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



It is stated that the first pound-net in this vicinity was set in 1867. 

 The gill-net fishing began in 1870. 



The fishing has not varied much for a number of years, with the ex- 

 ception of such alternations of good and poor seasous as are supposed 

 to be produced by the ordinary vicissitudes of wind and weather. 



Painesville has three railroads, and the products of the Fairport fish- 

 eries are taken there for shipment. 



Some of the whitefish and herring and large quantities of blue pike 

 are frozen annually, and about one-third of the herring and a few blue 

 pike are salted. 



The catch of sturgeon in this vicinity is large, and a good deal of roe 

 is made into caviare. 



Fisheries of Ashtabula. — Along the coast between Fairport, Ohio, and 

 Erie, Pennsylvania, a distance of 65 miles, the lake bottom is too rocky 

 to allow the staking of pound-nets, which consequently are not used at 

 all in that section. The boundary line between Lake and Ashtabula 

 Counties runs half way between Fairport and Ashtabula. The latter 

 is 26 miles east of Fairport, and is a growing city of 7,000 inhabitants. 

 It is about 2 miles from the lake on Ashtabula Greek, which forms a 

 good harbor for craft of all sizes, and the lake commerce is very large, 

 while five railroads furnish abundant facilities for inland trade. Most 

 of the lake traffic consists in the shipments of coal and the receipts of 

 lumber and iron ore. 



A little catfishing with set-lines is carried on at Ashtabula, and from 

 points all along the neighboring shores, both in the direction of Fair- 

 port and of Erie; but, apart from this, the fisheries of the town con- 

 sist only of one steamer fishing with gill-nets in spring and fall for 

 whitefish and blue pike. A few years ago there were half a dozen gill- 

 net boats here. 



The fisheries of Conneaut. — The next fishing port is Conneaut, 13 miles 

 to the eastward. It is situated on Conneaut Creek, 2 miles from its 

 mouth. That river has a good depth of water, but it is only accessible 

 to tugs and boats of small size, as a bar outside prevents the entrance 

 of large vessels. The population of the town is 3,000, principally en- 

 gaged in mercantile pursuits and in manufactures. 



The fisheries are of little importance, and are carried on entirely with 

 gill-nets and hooks. Three steamers and one sail-boat are used in fish- 

 ing gill-nets in early spring and late fall for whitefish, blue pike, and 

 herring. The gill-nets, of which there are nine hundred, have a length 

 of 35 to 110 fathoms, averaging about 70 fathoms, and are 5 feet deep. 

 Formerly, a 6-inch mesh was used, but now the mesh for whitefish is 

 from 4 to 4J inches, and the mesh for blue pike and herring is from 3 to 

 3 J inches. Some of the nets are rigged with corks and leads; others, 

 have wooden floats and stone sinkers. They are usually fished in about 

 80 feet of water. The gill-net fishing is followed at times from the 

 mouth of the Conneaut Creek, but during certain portions of the season 

 the steamers fish out of Dunkirk, Erie, and other ports. 



