The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1895-03-02
SALMON SLAUGHTERED.
1nofmoua Catches Made In the
Hudson Straits.
where Some Of the Finest Flsh sn the
World Are Taken BY the Thou
ea1ds - Peculiar Method
Employed.

Employed.
ssIf to see how the magnificent salm-
on Of the Pacific coast are caught
almost takes the heart out of the man
who loves to cast the fly for these
lordly Ash, he would lose it entirely
If he venture to Ungava bay, in Upper
Canada. and see how they capture
salmon there" said former agent of
the Hudson Bay company to New
York Sun man.
'Tt was only few years ago that
the possibilities of the south coast of
Ungava bay and Hudson straits in the
way of salmon and lake trout fishing
were discovered, and to say that they
are now being worked for all they are
worth is putting it mildly. The salmon
OF that high latitude are undoubtedly
the finest in the world. They are iur-
ther north than any other salmon
taken on this continent, and the lower
the tempeeaturc OF the winter the bet
ter salmon are. The Restigouche, or
any OF the salmon of the 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 deep-sea trout which has not its
like on the face of the globe.
"But the method adequate for catch
ing these Ash 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 it 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 the
tide.
sit is not more than eight or nine
years ago that the first attempt was
made to establish fisheries there on a
large scale. Drawing seines was i'm
possible, and the fish wheels of Oregon
were impracticable. So simple but
exceedingly effective trap was intro
duced. 1t was not original with the
salmon fishermen, the idea being
borrowed from the porpoise fishermen
of Hudson bay. Immense nets were
made from the largest and strongest
twine, and of length and depth to suit
the inlet to be fished. At low tide
the nets are set at the mouths OF the
hays 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
anchored side is drawn out. The
buoys instantly rise to the surface and
the trap is set. When the tide comes
back men are stationed above the nets
some distance, and with poles and
brush beat the water and make noises
of various kinds. This is to keep the
great body OF fsh from pressing 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 90 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 are
never found in the same inlet. In one
the trap may secure fifty or one hun
dred tons of salmon at q run, while the
next estuary below the catch will be
trout. have seen ten thousand salm-
on taken at one haul
II have seen the marvellous salmon
runs of the Oregon rivers, but they are
no comparison to the tremendous
'rushes of those Hudson straits fish.
It may be that If the latter had big
fresh water rivers to explore they
would not be massed 20 thickly along
the coast, but the channels they seek
are not sufficient to let them all in. If
the salmon supply of the world else
where should ever become exhausted,
it can be replaced sdly by the fish of
those great northern waters. A thou
sand big vessels could take on cargoes
Of salmon and trout there every season
without visibly lessening the supply"