GREAT LAKES COREGONIDS 



547 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 



Like the blue-backed herring and whitefish, the pilot occurs in schools in suitable 

 localities all along the shores of Lake Michigan. It is fished for even less extensively 

 than the herring, due probably to the fact that it is by no means so abundant nor so 

 easily taken, and consequently complete data on its range and abundance are not 

 available. Unless nets are set for pilots, the numbers of the fish or even their presence 

 may be unsuspected, as they seldom become entangled in the pound or gill nets set 

 for larger fish and are never seen swimming in the open lake. Like the herring, they 

 enter harbors occasionally and may then be taken with hand lines. 



R. F. Kleinke, of Menominee, Mich., says there are not now and to his knowledge 

 never were any pilot in Green Bay. At Washington Harbor, Wis., at the mouth of 

 the bay, John Ellafson reports a few taken occasionally both in trout and perch nets. 

 At Sturgeon Bay and at Algoma, Wis., they are taken occasionally in commercial 

 quantities, according to the statement of George Knipfer, who has set nets for these 

 fish. At Port Washington and Milwaukee, Wis., none ever are taken for market but 

 a few are caught in other nets during the year, according to the statement of Delos 

 H. Smith and August B. Budzisz. At Michigan City, Ind., and Grand Haven, 

 Ludington, and Manistee, Mich., the fishermen likewise report the taking of only an 

 occasional pilot. Otto Anderson says he has fished for pilot in the fall out of Arcadia, 

 Mich., and has taken them in commercial quantities. The other ports, all in the State 

 of Michigan, which have at times taken the fish for market are Northport (Hans 

 Anderson and Carl Schrader), Traverse City (Will Hopkins), St. James on Beaver 

 Island (Dennis and Hugh Boyle, James Martin, Robert Gibson, and Hugh Con- 

 naghan), and Seul Choix Point (Alex Goudreau). 



I have collected specimens from several ports on the lake, all of them casual 

 inclusions with the catches of. other species. Data for these are given in Table 96. 

 They are shown platted on the lake chart in Figure 4. 



METHOD OP CAPTURE 



Unlike the whitefish, the pilot will not follow a lead readily and consequently is 

 taken seldom in the pound or trap nets. Gill nets alone are employed in their cap- 

 ture, therefore, the mesh used ranging between 2^ and 3 inches. Other species, 

 notably herring and perch, also are taken often with the pilot by these nets. 



SEASONAL MOVEMENTS 



The pilot moves in and off shore like the other shallow-water coregonids. As 

 the species is not sought for regularly, only scattered data on its movements are 

 available. 



Data on the occurrence in fall and spring. — Out of Washington Harbor, Sturgeon 

 Bay, Algoma, Arcadia, Northport, Traverse City, St. James, and Seul Choix Point, 

 according to the statements of those fishermen who have attested to the occurrence 

 of the species out of these ports, the pilot can be found inshore on gravel and honey- 

 comb rock in 2 to 6 fathoms in November and often into December, if the weather 

 permits. At this time it is taken frequently in commercial quantities at these ports. 



