62 



The Amcricati Angler 



carp bites either at worms or at paste, and of 

 worms, I think, the bluish marsh or meadow 

 worm is the best; but possibly another worm 

 not too big may do as well, and so may a green 

 gentle; and, as for pastes, there are almost as 

 many sorts as there are medicines for the 

 toothache; but doubtless sweet pastes are best; 

 I mean pastes made with honey or sugar; which, 

 that you may the better beguile this crafty fish, 

 should be thrown in the pond or place in which 

 you fish for him some hours, or longer, before 

 you undertake your trial of skill with the angle 

 rod. 



So much from the old gentleman, 

 who leaves us ne'er a whit wiser as to 

 the game qualities of this coming fish. 



Sir John Hawkins, who edited a 

 popular edition of Walton's " Compleat 

 Angler," adds but little to our knowl- 

 edge of the angling traits of this fish. 

 He says : 



The haunts of the river carp are, in the win- 

 ter months, the broadest and most quiet parts 

 of the river; but in the summer they lie in deep 

 boles, nooks and reaches, near some scour, 

 and tmder. roots of trees, hollow banks, and, 

 till they are near rotting, almost on or near 

 great beds of weeds, flags, etc. Pond carp 

 cannot, with propriety, be said to have any 

 haunts ; only it is to be noted, that they love a 

 fat, rich soil, and never thrive in a cold, hungry 

 water. They breed three or four times a year ; 

 but their first spawning time is the beginning of 

 May. Baits for the carp are all sorts of earth 

 and dung-hill worms, flag worms, grasshoppers 

 (though not at top), ox brains, the pith of an 

 ox's backbone, green peas, and red or black 

 cherries with the stones taken out. Fish with 

 strong tackle, very near the bottom, and with a 

 fine grass or gut next the hook, and use a goose- 

 quill float. Never attempt to angle for a carp 

 in a boat, for they will not come near it. It is 

 said there are many carp in the Thames, west- 

 ward of London, and that* about February 

 they retire to the creeks in the river, in some of 

 which many above two feet long have been 

 taken with an angle. 



And we are still in the dark as to the 

 fight that is or ,is not in the carp, al- 

 though a little daylight is let in by 

 Ephemera, in • his edition of Walton, 

 issued in 1853. He says: 



The carp is the wariest of all fresh water fish, 

 and none but the wariest angler can take him. 



We have now reached Frank For- 

 rester, and he states that " though the 

 carp is shy and wary, the difficulty in 

 taking him arises only from his timidity 

 and unwillingness to bite, and he is as 

 lazy when hooked as he is slow to bite." 



Coming still closer to our own day, 

 Genio C. wScott, in his " Fishing in 

 American Waters," has literally nothing 

 to say in an angling way about this 

 coming fish. Old practical Thad. 

 Norris, ditto, ditto. 



Hallock, in his Gazetter, almost 

 ignores the Cyprinidse family of fishes, 

 but as a compensation, the complete 

 pages of Chambers' Encyclopedia give 

 us a modicum of comfort, to wit : 



To the angler the carp is not a very valuable 

 fish, as he is by no means a free biter. When 

 hooked, however, he runs strongly, and fights 

 with considerable determination and cunning. 



Take it all in all, we fancy that carp 

 fishing will not attract American 

 anglers, as he is essentially a bottom 

 feeder and biter, and it will require the 

 temperament and patience of a wharf- 

 fisher to successfulv basket these fish. 



I have nothing to add to the decision 

 of thirteen years ago respecting the 

 carp as a game fish, but as there may 

 be a fisher here and there who desires 

 to go a-carping, the most modern 

 methods and baits used in luring them 

 are given, culled from letters of per- 

 sonal correspondents : 



The only time to catch the carp is during 

 one hour at sunrise and one hour at sunset. 

 Use a very small hook, baited with a worm. 

 The line should be dark-colored and have no 

 gut leader. Attach a small cork float to the 

 line six inches above the hook. Cast your hook 

 a few feet from shore, and then throw small 

 pieces of bread into the water. After five or ten 

 minutes the carp will take the bread and the 

 worm on your hook as well, (rive the fish 

 plenty of time to suck in your bait. After the 



