322 
BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
whitefish, is often similar. It has previously been mentioned that large smelts often 
take a comparatively large bait, such as smelt or shiner intended for salmon, even 
a bait 5 or 6 inches long. (See page 383.) 
Formerly there was limited winter fishing for smelt in Sebago Lake. To what 
extent it is now carried on is unknown to the writer, but he is inclined to believe 
that there is no market fishery as there used to be. For several years large smelts 
commanded a uniform price, year after year, of 25 cents a pound to the fishermen. 
Formerly one man and his family had virtually a monoply of the smelt fishery in 
the spring at Songo Lock, so it is claimed. The “monopoly” was due to an advan- 
tageous position on his own shore near the lock where the smelts congregated in a 
vain attempt to ascend. It is reported that he used to dip tons of these smelts 
every spring and ship them to market in Boston and New York, where for the large 
smelts he received 25 cents a pound. There is now a law prohibiting the capture of 
large smelts in this locality during the spring breeding run. Under certain regula- 
tions small smelts may be dipped. 
A letter from Dr. Edward Paine, of Waterville, Me., in reply to a letter of 
inquiry concerning smelts in China Lake, stated that the large smelt were taken in 
60 to 85 feet of water. He said that when he first began fishing for them they were 
caught only in the winter. One fall, before the lake froze, he tried for them and 
caught a few. The next year some one “stumbled upon the idea of fishing for them 
early in the morning.” Now the summer fishing for smelts is in the early morning. 
They commence biting about daybreak and continue for two or three hours. Often 
a peck of smelts is caught with live bait to start with, and after a smelt is caught a 
piece of cut bait is used. Doctor Paine wrote: 
The smelt does not rank as a game fish, but considering the sport it affords and the fine food 
qualities it should rank above some so-called game fish. 
In Sebago Lake the present writer has fished for smelts at all times of the day 
excepting very early in the morning. In view of Doctor Paine’s statement, perhaps 
early morning fishing at Sebago might yield larger catches; but very satisfactory 
catches have been made at other times of day, and the largest numbers and largest 
fish usually were taken in the late evening from just before sunset until dark. The 
followining computation of catches of smelts was made from an equal number of trials 
at four different periods of the day — morning, forenoon, afternoon, and late afternoon 
or evening. 
Per cent 
Morning 21.2 
Forenoon 17.9 
Afternoon 22.3 
Evening 38.6 
100.0 
The foregoing figures represent the times when fish were caught, with the excep- 
tion of one forenoon when none was caught. So, of course, they do not show the 
many failures to catch smelts at any time of day. While the time of day, in many 
