THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 251 
FACTS ABOUT FISHING IN THE 
COLUMBIA 
By WarpEen Joun Larson, 
The Columbia River is a great resource for fishing on account 
of the large catch of fish. There are quite a number of ways in which 
fishing is carried on in the Columbia River. These are as follows: 
Trolling, seining, gillnetting, trapping and hook and line, 
Trolling is a great sport, as well as a profitable industry. This 
is carried on the outside of the three-mile limit. This is a method 
of fishing in which a spoon hook is used by dragging it at the end 
of a long line behind the boat. This is something like angling. In 
one evening the catch of fish is from one hundred pounds to half 
a ton, 
In the smaller streams children, as well as grown folks, partake 
in catching trout and small fish by hook and line. The appliances 
required to fish are a rod, line, hook and bait. Floats are often used 
to keep the bait near the surface, and sinkers are used to keep the 
bait near the bottom of the river. In catching certain fish flies must 
be used. 
Seining is done mostly on the islands in the Columbia River. 
Sand Island has a large seining ground. Horses are used to draw 
the nets in the water and when the net is drawn to shore it is gener- 
ally packed with large and small fish. 
Trapping is another interesting way of fishing. A quite a lot of 
this is done on the Oregon side, as well as the Washington side. This 
is a very profitable way of fishing. Some fishermen make as much 
as $10,000 a season. 
Gillnetting is a simple method of fishing. The net is tied to the 
back part of the boat and drifts with the tide. After drifting a few 
miles they pick up the net. When all the fish are taken out they lay 
out again and proceed as before. This is very profitable, as some 
gillnetters make as much as $5000. 
The Columbia River has the largest catch of fish and also the 
largest canneries in the United States, and we hope that in the future 
we may have the largest in the world. 
EVIDENCE OF OREGON’S SPLENDID 
SYSTEM OF HATCHERIES 
Oakland, Cal., Sept. 7, 1916. 
Oregon Fish and Game Commission, 
Portland, Oregon. 
Gentlemen: Enclosed please find postage stamps for one year’s 
subscription to The Oregon Sporisman, to above address. 
During a short visit to and about the Columbia Highway section 
of your beautiful state, I indulged myself with casting a fly in a 
wonderful little mountain stream (aiter securing the necessary pass- 
port, of course). My success was gratifying, for I captured some 
four or five dozen trout, the total of several short trips—all I wanted 
and enough—and from the fact that among this small number of 
fish were four different species of the trout family, should be ample 
evidence of the reliability of your splendid system of hatcheries and 
restocking of your streams. Sincerely, 
H. M. WEATHERBEE. 
