The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-01-24
ARE KILLED
Enormous Ce.chss Made Il -
Hudson Straits.
Where Some of the Finest FssA - -
Wcrid Are -aksn by the xho0
sands Peculiar Nc:hoA
EnSiSycL

IF tc see how the magnificent salr7
on of the Pacific coast are caught
almost takes the heart oc. Of tie nan
who loves to cast the fy for these
lordly fish, he would lose il entirely
II he venture To Upgava ley. il Upper
Canada. and see how they cartu1
salmon there" said former agent Of
the Hudson Pay company to NeW
York sun man.
1T was only . few years ago that
the possibilities Of the south coast Of
Ungava bay and Hudson straits il the
way of salmon and lake trout fishing
were discovered, aud to say that they
are now being worried fer oil they are
worth is putting itIr;!d,y. The salEoa
OF that high latitude are undoubtedly
the finest IN the world. They arc fur.
Their north than any other salmon
taken on this continent, and the lower
the tempe cstCre of the water tie bet
ter salmon are. The Restigouche, on
any OF the salmon &c che ST. Lawrence
basin, are far superior TO the Oregon
salmon. and the Hudson straits salmon
are just as much superior to the Resti-
gouche fish. Besides the salmon the
waters Of the Hudson strait coast TEEN
with a deep-sea trout which has not its
like on the face of the globe.
But the method adequate for catch
ing these fish is just as peculiar as the
fish themselves are. and it Is doubtful
If salmon or trout fishing Is done in the
same way elsewhere. The coast Of
Hudson straits Is indented by thou
sands Of small bays and estuaries, and
many rivers traverse 10 TO the bay. At
low tide there is little water In any Of
these inlets. but at high tide the water
rushes up into them for long distances
The tides rise twenty-five and even
fifty feet. At high tide. in the salmon
and trout running seasons, these fish
follow with the water into the bays
and rivers as fast as the tide goes, and
swarm back with it when it ebbs
have seen the smaller rivers. streams,
or rather stream beds. one hundred feet
wide, actually choked from shore TO
shore with the biggest salmon a man
ever saw struggling upward with tho
tide.
1T Is not more than eight or nine
years ago that the first attempt was
made to establish fisheries there on .
large scale. Drawing seines was inn
possible, and the fish wheels of Oregon
were impracticable. SO sim pie but
exceedingly effective trap was intro
duced. 1t was not original with tho
salmon fishermen. the idea being
borrowed from the porpoise fishermen
of Hudson bay. Immense nets were
made from the largest and strongest
Irvine, and of length and depth to suit
the inlet To be fished. At low tide
the nets are set at the mouths Of the
bays or inlets, and the top Of the net is
hauled to the bottom so as to offer no
obstruction to the water or fish as they
pass upward with the rising tide. just
before the tide turns the line holding
the floater side Of the net To the
anchored side Is drawn out Tho
buoys instantly rise TO the surface and
the trap is set. When the tide comes
back men are stationed above the nets
some distance, aud with poles and
brush beat the water and make noises
of various kinds This Is To keep the
tTtdb hoAy VI ISL IIbHl ITtSStHR upon
the net at once. and as the fish are ex-
ceedingly timid they rush back up
stream by the thousand. and will
actually be left on the dry land by the
receding tide. so panic stricken do they
become at the noise made by the men.
When the tide has gone out. the dry
beds of the inlets will be piled with
tons upon tons Of salmon or trout Not
salmon and trout, for both kinds arc
never found 10 the same inlet In one
the trap may secure fifty or one hun
bred tons OF salmon at run, while the
next estuary below the catch will DO
trout ! have seen ten thousand salm-
on taken al one haul
81 have seen the marvellous salmon
runs OF the Oregon rivers. but they are
no comparison to the tremendous
PUSHES of those Hudson straits fish-
II may be that IL the latter had big
fresh water rivers 20 explore they
would not be nassed so tbickly along
the coast, but the channels they seek
are not sufficient TO let them all Ia. IL
the salmon supply Of the world else
where should ever become exhausted,
II can be replaced easily by the fish Of
those great northern waters A thou
sand big vessels could take on cargocs
Of salmon and trout there ever season
without visibly lessening the supply"