620 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



He then o-oes on to tell when one .should fish, the kinds of bait that 

 should be used, and ends with an elaborate recipe for its cooking. 



Perhaps the best directions for fishing for carp with hook and line 

 are those quoted from Pennell by Goode (1888, p. 414) in his popular- 

 treatise on American Fishes. 



Early in the morning, and, occasionally, late in the evening, are the best times for 

 fishing; but, as observed, the catching of Carp with the rod and line is always a diffi- 

 cult and uncertain operation, particularly if the fish are large. The smaller the pond, 

 the better the chance I have always found of catching Carp and Tench, though, of 

 course, they are not so large as in bigger waters. I once caught a bucketful of Carp 

 before breakfast, in a pond by the side of a road between Weybridge and Byfleet, 

 which was not bigger than an ordinary sized ball-room. The biggest of these Carp 

 did not, however, exceed 2 pounds in weight. 



The following is the method of Carp fishing in stagnant waters which I have 

 found most successful: 



Let the line be entirely of medium sized or fine round gut — clouded, if possible— 

 with a very light quill float, say No. 4, and one good-sized shot, about 6 inches or so 

 from the hook, which should be No. 5 or 6 and baited with a brandling or red worm, 

 riumb the depth accurately; and arrange the distance between the float and the shot, 

 so that the latter may exactly rest on the bottom, weighing down the point of the 

 float to about "half-cock," and letting the gut below the shot and the bait lie on 

 ground. Fix the rod in the bank and keep perfectly quiet. When a bite is per- 

 ceived, do not strike until the float begins to move away. 



It constantly happens, how ever, that the Carp will not be taken either by this or 

 any other mode of fishing with which I am acquainted; but if he is to be caught at 

 all it is thus. 



The baits are, worms (first), gentles, greaves, grains and various sorts of pastes, 

 of which latter, however, I believe the plain white bread crumb paste is the best, as 

 well as the most easily made. Professor Owen, who had a good deal of Carp fishing 

 experience in Virginia water, gave me the results of his practice which concur in a 

 great measure with my own, except that he fished with his bait paste made of soft 

 herring roe worked up with bread crumbs and wool, a favorable substitute some- 

 times for the brandling. 



In Germany the "angler usually prepares for his sport by "ground- 

 baiting' with a thousand or more angle-worms, twenty-four hours 

 before he expects to fish, and while fishing he throws worms into the 

 water." 



While most of our sportsmen would probably indignantl} 7 object to 

 having the carp classed as a game fish, it must be admitted that 

 whether it should be so classed or not depends largely upon our defi- 

 nition of a game fish, and, as Goode says (1888, p. xiv), "no fish 

 which is not of the highest rank as a table delicacy is rated b}^ Ameri- 

 cans as a game fish." He continues: 



The barbel, the dace, and the roach, the pets of the father of angling, classical in 

 the pages of sportsmen's literature, are despised by new world authorities, and are 

 now considered "coarse fish" even by English writers. Yet they afford excellent 

 sport — sport which in England tens of thousands enjoy to every one who gets the 

 chance to whip a salmon or trout line over preserved waters. 



And so it is with the carp. Those who live where there is an abun- 

 dance of other fish, such as bass and pickerel, or even of perch and 





