320 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



taken at the mouth of Stony Creek and in smaller numbers off Big 

 Sandy Creek. Whitefish are scarce; only one fisherman caught any 

 in 1885 ; these weighed from 1 to 2 pounds each, and were secured off 

 Big Sandy Creek. A few herring are taken in gill-nets off the shores 

 adjacent to Ellisburgh and Woodville. Pike, suckers, eels, perch, and 

 bass also occur in the pond aud creeks. 



Extent of the fisheries. — Thirteen professional fishermen and G who 

 fished during only a part of the year were engaged on this shore in 

 1885. They had the following apparatus : 8 gill-net boats and 10 other 

 boats; 55 sturgeon gill-nets, 18,150 feet long; 22 whitefish gill-nets, 

 9,260 feet long; 41 herring gill-nets, 13,530 feet long; 104 fyke-nets; 2 

 seines, 990 feet long; and miscellaneous apparatus, etc. The total 

 value of the fishing property and outfit was $3,030. 



The fish landed in 1885 consisted of 18,900 pounds of bull-heads, 

 9,870 pounds of sturgeon, 4,125 pounds of eels, 4,000 pounds of herring, 

 2,675 pounds of pike, 1,000 pounds of perch, 700 pounds of suckers, 625 

 pounds of whitefish, and 500 pounds of bass. The total value of the 

 catch was $1,770. 



115. STONY ISLAND AND GALLOO ISLAND, JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW 



YORK. 



Geography of the islands. — These are large islands northwest of Stony 

 Point, Stony Island being 2J and Galloo Island 6 miles from the shore. 

 Extending lengthwise of the former island is a pond or bay 2 miles 

 long and one-eighth of a mile wide; it has connection with the lake 

 through a very narrow channel, which runs into Dutch John's Bay, on 

 the northwest side of the island ; the depth of water in this pond is 

 from 8 to 27 feet. The shores of Galloo Island are low and marshy, ex- 

 cept a portion of the northwestern side, where the woods abut on the 

 lake. The gravel beds around these islands are supposed to be the 

 spawning grounds of the whitefish and trout; such at least is the 

 opinion of the fishermen. Cape Vincent, Sackett's Harbor, and Chau- 

 mont fishermen visit the fishing grounds in this locality at certain 

 periods, and a few men, with their families, make the islands their per- 

 manent abode. There are several cottages and a boarding-house at 

 the upper end of Stony Island at which sportsmen stop in summer. 

 One fisherman on Galloo Island has an ice house in which his fish are 

 packed until a collecting boat from Ghaumont comes for them. 



Species and abundance. — Sturgeon are quite numerous off the islands, 

 and are caught in gill-nets and trap-nets at all seasons when there is no 

 ice. Whitefish are of small size but more plentiful than for some years 

 past. Trout are fairly common. The long pond on Stony Island 

 abounds in pike, bull-heads, and bass ; these are caught only by sports- 

 men, however, the regular fishing for these abundant species being car- 

 ried on off the shores, fyke-nets and trap-nets being used. Herring are 

 taken in considerable numbers, and, except in the case of a small portion 



