368 



BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



most of the ports assured me that large white herring (which probably were longjaws) 

 formerly were gilled not infrequently in these nets. The l^-inch bait nets that are 

 set out of most ports at depths of 26 to 40 fathoms for the purpose of taking bait for 

 the trout hooks take chiefly small bloaters and presumably such juvenile chubs as 

 occur on the grounds with them. Fish were examined from these nets at seven 

 ports (see p. 354), but no longjaws were found among the bait except at Northport, 

 Mich., on June 23, 1920, and Traverse City, Mich., on July 18, 1923, where there 

 were a few, and at Port Washington, Wis., on September 25, 1920, where a single 

 specimen was obtained (records 25, 28, and 7). In the special 13^-inch nets set along 

 the shores of Platte Bay, Mich., in 8 to 12 fathoms on July 21, 1923, and in 15 to 25 

 fathoms on July 23, 1923, and in Grand Traverse Bay off Lees Point, Mich., in 6 to 

 16 fathoms on July 25, 1923, a single specimen was taken on each date (records 

 21, 22, and 29). 



In the pound nets set in 5 fathoms off South Manitou Island three longjaws 

 were found on July 30, 1923 (record 23). These observations thus show that 

 when not spawning the longjaw ranges between 5 and 90 fathoms. Whether the fish 

 ever is taken in deeper water is not known. The statements of the fishermen who have 

 fished for the longjaws on their spawning grounds indicate that they come abundantly 

 into water as shallow as 10 fathoms during the spawning season. 



RELATIVE ABUNDANCE 



But few observations have been made on the proportion of longjaws to the other 

 chubs. Furthermore, those for 1920 are unsatisfactory, as the fishing season for 

 chubs was so unfavorable during that year that few fish of any kind were taken at a 

 lift. Only the examined lifts of the chub nets mentioned in the preceding section 

 took no longjaws. Longjaws were rare in the lifts made on November 19, 1920, 10 

 miles NNW. of Michigan City, Ind., in 18 fathoms; on August 18, 1920, off Wash- 

 ington Harbor, Wis., in 18 to 24 fathoms; on March 2, 1921, 21 miles NNW. of 

 Michigan City, Ind., in 30 fathoms; and on March 4, 1921, 15 miles NW. by N. 

 N., in 28 fathoms; on November 15, 1920, 20 miles ESE. of Milwaukee, Wis., in 

 28 to 35 fathoms; on August 24, 1920, 10 miles E. by N. of Algoma, Wis., in 35 to 50 

 fathoms; on September 25, 1920, 18 miles E. Yi S. of Port Washington, Wis., in 

 65 to 48 fathoms; on September 23, 1920, 27 miles ESE. of Milwaukee, Wis., in 60 

 fathoms; on August 23, 1920, 12 miles E. by S. of the Sturgeon Bay ship-channel 

 mouth in 60 to 70 fathoms; and on August 19, 1920, 20 miles E. 3^ N. of Rock Island,. 

 Wis., in 71 to 90 fathoms (records, 16, 1, 17, 18, 10, 4, 6, 9, 3, and 2). At the 

 north end and at one port at the south end of the lake the species was more abundant. 

 Longjaws comprised 22 per cent of a lift made on October 4, 1920, 9 miles north of 

 Point Betsie, Mich., in 60 to 70 fathoms (record 20). Longjaws comprised 45 to 

 69 per cent of a lift made on July 31, 1923, 5 miles northwest of Cathead Light,. 

 Mich., in 40 to 60 fathoms; on August 11, 1923, 3 miles NW. y 2 W. of Charlevoix,. 

 Mich., in 35 to 60 fathoms; and on August 12, 1920, 15 miles SE. by S. Y 2 S. of 

 Manistique, Mich., in 60 to 70 fathoms (records 26, 35, and 39); and 90 to 98 per 

 cent of lifts made on June 22, 1920, 5 miles northwest of Cathead Light, Mich., in 

 40 to 60 fathoms; June 29, 1920, 5 miles N. by E. of Charlevoix, Mich., in 40 to 55* 



