Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1919-02-11
WISCONSIN CONSERVATION CON-
MISSION
Division Of Fisheries by James Nevin
LAKE TROUT

LAKE TROUT
Lake trout is one of the great COM
mercial fish of the great lakes. 1t is
one of the fishes that the Commission
is propagating quite extensively to
keep our waters stocked with this
variety as a food fish.
The lake trout are cannibals and
have the habit of devouring great num-
bers of other varieties of fish. Large
ears of corn, silver watches and jack
knives have been found in the stom-
achs of lake trout. Lake trout grab
on to these articles as they have been
lost from some passing vessel and the
fish have grabbed them on their de-
cent from the boat to the bottom of the
lake. Some trout grow to great size.
Some have been taken in former years
that weighed seventy-five to eighty
pounds. The largest one that / ever
saw weighed fifty-two pounds and in
this fish was found a very large ear
of corn.
In this state during the year of
1917, by the fishermen's reports to
this Office, there were caught $780,
119 pounds of this fish within the state
of these fish were caught with gill
nets from tugs set in from 40 to so
to 80 fathoms of water. The fisher
men from Milwaukee, Port Washing
ton and Sheboygan have the largest
and most expensive outfits for catching
fish out of any port along the lake.
This is absolutely necessary on ac-
count of the much longer runs that the
fishermen make to the outside shoals
to their fishing grounds, from 20 to
80 miles distance from their home
ports.
Lake trout are caught from waters
all along our coast line. At certain
seasons of the year they have their
haunts when they come and go out
of sight and reach of the fishermen's
| nets. OF late years a great many
fishermen have been making use of
hooks with bait called bloaters for
catching trout. They set many miles
Of set lines with short line at
tached to the main line with hook
and baited and made fast some two
feet apart. Some fishermen make use
of many thousand hooks in their busi-
ness. If, the gill nets have only been
| in the water one or two nights be-
fore they are lifted, the fish are most
all alive and fresh when taken from
the nets. The fish that are caught on
the hooks are all alive and it is very
seldom that an understood trout less
| than the law allows is caught ON the
| hooks. With the gill nets a mesh of
|2R inches stretch measure is allowed
| by law for catching of herring, clubs
and bluefin, A goodly number of small
lake trout are caught in them. The
| length of the lake trout that Is al
| lowed by law to be caught is IL inches
in length and 1t takes from 4 to
of these small fish to make a pound in
weight. This should not be allowed.
We are recommending to the legisla-
ture that no lake trout be allowed to
be placed on the market of less than
| 16 inches in length. This will bring
the weight of small trout allowed to
be placed on the market one pound in
the round.
There are many tons of these small
understood fish taken from the waters
every season. If these fish are left
in the waters it does not cost any
thing to feed them and they grow in
to value very rapidly. 1t is a HARD
job to regulate the size of the mesh
for the catching of all varieties of fish
The size of mesh that is adapted fol
the catching of some kinds of fish in
certain portions of the lake at Ger.
tain seasons should not be allowed al
another section of the lake as the fish
that are to be caught vary in size anC
in numbers in different localities. A
the same time law in regulation
that would apply to waters of Mil
waukee should not be allowed to ap
ply in the waters in the vicinity Of
Bailey's Harbor.
Gill nets set to catch club, blue
fin, herring and small trout are bound
to be caught in the nets. This is un
avoidable as the fishermen are not re
sponsible for the understood fish, by
law, for going into the net. A grea
many fishermen are advocating a lega
mesh and all fish caught in the nets
a lawful fish.
In the Lake Superior waters, in
and about the Apostle Islands, dur.
ing the month of June, when the fish
raise to the top of the water fishermen
and others have great sport catch.
ing the fish on a trelling-iine behind
launch, using herring for bait