The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1868-07-16
POND-NET FISHING.

to accompany him to the fish nets just
| South of the village. We had heard
and read much of these nets but had
never seen one in practical operation, so
we accepted the proposal to be On hand
at four o clock the next morning gladly,
and for the benefit of those who know as
little of the business as we did we will
tell what we saw. At 400 the boat was
headed for the Lake and the long measur-
ed stroke Of the strong fishermen sent it
rapidly forward. We pass the new piers
and the dredge, just steaming up, and
meet the cool. refreshing air of the Lake.
The boat is headed south, the blue water
foams on either side of the bow and CUR
| giles under the stern The sun is not vet
up, but presently as we watch the eastern
horizon little something glitters in the
water, and then, while we continue to
observe 1T, grows majestically into great
ball of fire, and we feel that the god of
day has come again to gladden. the earth.
| In a few minutes we reached the nets.
These are constructed as follows: Long
| large poles, from % to 40 feet in length,
| corresponding TO the depth of water, are
sharpened and driven down in the bottom
sufficiently to hold them firm, commenc-
| ing where the water is about six feet
deep and setting one eve1y 60 feet, oGt
into the lake, until depth of 25 feet or
more Is reached. Here poles are driven
| down to form the outlines of a heart, $50
feet on each side, the large end toward
the shore. Then still further out more
poles are driven, forming a circle about
% feet in diameter This is called the
pot very appropriately, as we will
show The poles being all driven, nets
are stretched on the poles first named
from near the shore out to the heart, and
from the lake bottom two feet above
water. Also around the ''heart" The
pot is similar to an immense dip-net.
Now the principle involved is as follows:
The fish are feeding along shore, say at
a depth of ten feet; they meet an OBJ
struction and turn towards deep water to
go around it. an action which instinct al
ways prompts them to take. There
being large opening, which gradually
grows smaller, they are unconsciously
guided into the heart, to escape, from
which they must go towards the shore
through small opening, which they are
not likely to do The small end of the
heart ends in a sort Of tunnel-leading
into the pot-the month of which is
some Sx20 feet and the small end 2x6
feet. Now the fish, once in the heart,
soon find this tunnel and through it they
go in search of deep water but they soon
find themselves in little pond only 25
feet in diameter. Here is a fix; true
they might escape by going into the little
end of the tunnel, but they don't know
enough. Morning brings the fishermen
with their boat capable of carrying 20
barrels of fish. They close the mouth of
the tunnel, then commence to haul up
one side of the net which constantly con-
tracts the space occupied by the fish until
finally they are brought to the surface,
and now the fun commences. One of
the men takes little scoop net-not as
large as q bushel basket-with handle
about FIVE feet long and dips into the
NvrIO nIno fol +braa
five, Or even more, and tumbles them
into the bottom Of the boat. 1t took
about ten minutes to dip up five barrels
on the occasion of which we write. They
were study-those fnny tribes captured
from their native clement. They were
mostly white fish with their large bodies
and small heads, but here and there
could be seen the trout with his sleek
speckled sides and shapely form, and
there, what kid Of a thing do you call
that :? we asked, as black thing with
big head slippery sides and a long
tail was tumbled in with the Others Oh
that's lawyer replied our friend
We laughed and said, you do not find
any editors do you? eyes, these are
editors, and he held up couple of
suckers for moment, and quietly put
them back into the lake, then taking the
lawyer" he broke its back, saying he
did not like that ''critter."
We started for home with loadworth
at least $40. We, individually, had had
a new experience and we felt enthusiastic,
strong; so we proposed to take an or
and give the young fisherman ''lively
turn. We rather think we got one
ourselves, at all events we got four big
blisters and big appetite for breakfast
The first will get well and the last we APP
peased half an hour later on the best
piece of whitefsh we ever tasted.
a pound net, we are informed, costs
from 5000, to $500, and they sometimes
prove very lucrative investment. This
year they have not done very well in
this locality, but they are improving
We heard of a pound net near Waukegan
from which $500, worth of fish was taken
at one haul.
Another New Steamer.