688 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES, 



bring- a .slightl}^ higher price owing to the fact that they pack better, 

 and more can be put in a package. They also absorb the salt better 

 than ''ciscoes.'' In some instances salt herring are sold under the 

 trade name of '* family white fish." Lake Huron herring average 

 in weight from one-third to three-fourths of a pound, though an occa- 

 sional one weighing 3 pounds is taken. 



Suckers are caught from Detour to Port Huron, but the largest 

 quantities are taken in the lake ofl Cheboygan and in the Cheboygan 

 liiver at that town, and in the Saginaw River. At Cheboygan they 

 are caught principally in trap nets during the spring, usually in May, 

 w^hile in the Saginaw River the}^ are caught in f3'ke nets and pomid 

 nets from Noveml)er 1 to April 15. About one-half of the entire catch 

 of the lake is salted and the remainder sold fresh. Suckers average in 

 weight from li to 2 pounds each. 



Yellow perch ordinarily bring a small price, an average being from 

 f to li cents per pound. Along the Saginaw River, however, during 

 the v/inter they are shipped to New York City by the fishermen and 

 net them from 2 to 9 cents per pound. They are takeri mainl}' in fyke 

 nets, pound nets, and trap nets, and are all sold fresh. Perch vary in 

 W' eight from 6 to 11 ounces each on an average. 



With the exception of sturgeon, white-fish are the most valued of the 

 commercial species taken in Lake Huron. They are caught in every 

 county bordering on the lake, but are most plentiful around Little 

 Charity Island, near the entrance to Saginaw Bay. This island is the 

 property of a fishing firm at Bay Cit}' which supports a very extensive 

 fishery there. White-fish are sold fresh except at times during the 

 summer, when the flesh becomes soft from the extreme heat. The fish 

 thus affected are salted before being marketed. In this process it ia 

 customary to open them down the back, as they do not keep well if 

 opened down the belly. Practically the entire catch of white-fish is 

 taken in pound nets and gill nets, the catch with the latter being prin- 

 cipally bj' steamers. The average weight of white-fish taken in Lake 

 Huron is from 2 to 3 pounds each. Off Caseville the,y are frequently 

 taken weighing 17 pounds each, and one was taken in the fall of 1903 

 weighing 19 pounds. Those weighing 6 pounds or more are called 

 jumbos and sell for double the price of the smaller ones. 



Among the other species taken in this lake that assume some impor- 

 tance in certain localities are pike and pickerel, Menominee white-fish, 

 rock bass, cat-fish, long-jaw white-fish, bullheads, and sturgeon. A 

 few other species are also taken incidentally along the lake, but are of 

 less importance. 



Except on the Saginaw River very few fishermen along Lake Huron 

 ship their own catch, but sell to local dealers. At West Bay City and 

 Essexville there are five dealers who handle practically all of the fish 



