no 
'I HK HOOK 0\' FISHKS 
HlatH, with nam)W «nacc8 between to provide 
abundant circulatir^n of water, 
'I'lie catch is made when l'’,elH arc workin(4 tr)- 
ward Halt water and is heaviest durint^ the dark of 
the moon. 'I'he Hcason is frr>m July to October, 
inclusive. 
Lar^e as is the catch of l‘!,cls in America, it is 
vastly (greater in I'atrfjpc. 
Science knows more tfMlav alumt the Kel than 
it did some years a^o, and tne missinK chapters in 
the I'^ers life history have been supplied throuRh 
modern deep-sea invcstif<ati(ms rather than in the 
study of fresh or coastal waters, where I',els are 
mcjre in evidence. 
Unlike Salmon, Shad, and (nher fishes which 
enter fresh waters to spawn, the b’cl descends 
streams at maturity to sjiawn far at sea. 'I he 
younK b’els—three inches or ho in l(mj<th, called 
r'lvers- that enter fresh waters in the spring in 
large numbers, and are continually working up¬ 
stream, liavc always been knrjwn, but the stages 
of growth between the egg and the I'Jver were not. 
'I'hesc stages in which the baby I'^el does not 
exceed three inches in length are of ccjmparatively 
recent discovery. We liere find it a thin, flattened 
creature, so transparent that ordinary print may 
be clearly read through its body. When first 
described in this stage it was called Lel>tocephalus 
and was not known to be the Common Kel. 
'riiese transparent larval I'icls found at sea 
in the winter months grow rapidly, and by the 
end of the year are more than two inches long, 
when they begin to transform. Hy the time they 
arc a year old they begin to appear in fresh-water 
streams as I'Jvers or young Uels about three inches 
loUK. 
Investigations by the Danish vessel Daua in 
1^20 and i() 2 i have shown that the early larval 
stages of both the American and the I'iuropean 
h'-er arc found only in the western Atlantic, at 
depths of 6(xj to 900 feet. 'I'he former spawns to 
the south and southwest of the Hermuda Islands, 
the latter to the south tind southeast. 
While the American Uel begins to enter fresh 
water at the age of a year, the Uurfjpean stiecies 
remains three years in the larval stages bemre it 
appears as the b’lvcr in hiuropean streams. 'I’lic 
latter, like the Americati h’.el, goes far inland, even 
passing within the borders of Switzerland. 
I'ernales with ripe eggs arc unknown, the millions 
of undeveloped eggs carried by each female not 
developing while the Ivels linger in fresh or coastal 
waters. 
'I'he bids found far inland are always females 
and remain in fresh water frir several years. It 
is only when tending toward reproductive maturity 
that they seek the sea. Male I'’el8 remain in tidal 
waters and are smaller and less in evidence. Dike 
females, they do nf)t reach breeding maturity until 
they have passed to sea. 
'I'he great bulk of the Kel catch everywhere 
consists of females. It is said that all the Kels 
captured in tlie great Q'^cbec fishery are females 
moving downstream. 
'I'he I'-cl catch in the St. Lawrence River is 
derived from Dels belonging to that river and its 
tributaries, including Lake Ontario. 'I'he Lake 
Ontario catch of I'iels in 1899 exceeded 12.1,000 
pounds. 'I'he annual yield of all the other (ireat 
Lakes combined seldom exceed 2,000 pounds, the 
I'alls of Niagara constituting an impassable barrier 
to all kinds of fishes. 
Ivnorrnous numbers of young I’.els gather below 
Niagara in spring and summer, but there is no 
evidence that they ever pass farther by that route. 
'I'he b-els of the upper Lakes may pass up by 
way of tlie b>ie and Welland canals. It may be 
that limited numbers of I’-els in the Mississippi 
River find means of passing into the Great Lakes. 
Whether I'icls Inhabited these lakes before the 
construction of canals, the writer is not informed. 
'I'he fishery statistics at hand contain no records 
of bids in Lake .Superior. 
b-els enter all American streams from the .St. 
Lawrence River to the Ciulf of Mckico. It is 
only the young b’.els that move upstream. Adults 
move downstream and do not return. Both males 
and females die at sea after the first and only 
breeding season in their live.s. 'I'he b’el is very 
prolific, each female producing from 5,000,000 to 
10,000,000 eggs. 
Lels^ are taken in other ways than with nets. 
“Bobbing for Kels” is done with worms strung on 
thread, which looped in a .small bunch make a 
bait verv attractive to J'.els. 'I'hey are alsf> taken 
in small wire traps called eelpots, by eelspears, 
and are even taken by digging and spearing in the 
mud, where they bury themselves in winter. 
