Notes and Queries 



129 



are loaded up with golden (?) spinners with 

 bodies composed of either silk or mohair that 

 will run from a light yellow to a deep orange. 

 I will admit that there is some excuse for this 

 as the trout will probably rise to a golden 

 spinner with an orange body just as quickly 

 as they will rise to one of a golden color. The 

 wrong of the whole thing is that each dealer 

 will positively claim that his pattern, and his 

 only, is the correct and standard. 



"We have many flies that are distinctly 

 local, and might be called standards, if they 

 were always tied alike. Then we have a large 

 number of nondescripts. Many are tied up in 

 part imitation of many bugs and moths that 

 are seen on various waters in the country, 

 others are designed by fishermen and fly-tyers. 

 Some of these latter are real works of art, and 

 are really beautiful, made so by the excellent 

 blending of colors. These latter are generally 

 made for bass fishing originally, as a bass will 

 take almost anything that moves, whether it 

 be made of feathers or sheet iron, but the flies 

 eventually get tied in trout styles (sizes). 

 Some of these creations, however, are the 

 most horrible things imaginable, as the de- 

 signers had no idea of the blending of colors, 

 but simply had several colors, repugnant to 

 harmony, thrown together, and were trying 

 simply to get something different from any- 

 body else. 



"Another cause of these creations arises 

 among the dealers particularly. Almost the 

 first thing a dealer does when he starts in 

 business is to have a fly designed and named 

 after himself. This particular fly he is always 

 careful of and has it tied "just so " every time. 

 This fly is urged upon his customers and 

 friends, and soon finds its way into general 

 use. When it is ordered of some other dealer, 

 he, of course, is not particular about a fly 

 named after one who is possibly his rival and 

 competitor in business, and it follows after all 

 other patterns and soon becomes so changed 

 that the original dealer does not recognize it. 



" I have heard many fishermen express the 

 wish that we might have a set of standard 

 flies, so we would know what we were going 

 to get when we ordered some from a dealer. 

 However it would be impossible to get enough 

 fishermen and reputable dealers together to es- 

 tablish a series of standards that would be fol- 

 lowed faithfully. The only way out of it, that 

 I can see, is for the general fisherman to tie his 

 own flies, as I and many others do." 



Two Carp Ponds. 



I have read with increasing interest your 

 articles in the American Angler on the above 

 subject. Very probably I should yield obeis- 

 ance to the sceptre of modesty and be satis- 

 fied with your able discussion of the same. 

 However at the penalty of appearing pre- 

 sumptuous, I shall venture to remark, that I 

 have always entertained a most decided 

 aversion for the carp. In this section of the 

 State of Ohio, it is regarded only as a mud- 

 sucking, spawn-eating cannibal of the finny 

 tribe. 



When this fish was first introduced into this, 

 the central part of the State, two farmers, at- 

 tracted by the reputation of the fish for its pro- 

 lific qualities, as well as its rapid growth, 

 stocked two ponds with the same. The ponds 

 were fed by springs of purest water, and the 

 conditions for most successful fish culture were 

 carefully observed. In the course of five years 

 the fish attained large proportions, some weigh- 

 ing more than twenty pounds. During this 

 time it was thoroughly demonstrated to the 

 satisfaction of these two fish culturists that the 

 fish was not edible, of no earthly use, and ut- 

 terly unfit for either man or beast ! 



Farmer number one drained his pond, and 

 the fish, thus liberated from their dike- 

 encircled confines, made their way into the 

 neighboring creek, and from thence to a lake 

 of about two hundred acres and about two 

 miles distant. At the time of the advent of 

 these fish into this lake the latter was as beau- 

 tiful a sheet of water as I have ever seen, and 

 was fed by springs of crystal water from the 

 adjacent hills that completely encircle it. This 

 lake of nature's own creation was indeed a 

 thing of beauty, and it sat a perfect gem amidst 

 the "rock-ribbed hills." 



But how changed it was in a few years. 



When the barbaric hosts of the North de- 

 scended upon the beautiful valleys of the 

 Roman Empire, the}- left plague, and desola- 

 tion, and death in their path, and plunged civ- 

 ilization into the dark ages. And when these 

 fish took possession of this lake the result was 

 no less marked or disastrous. The water, in 

 the course of a few years, became muddy and 

 opaque, and I believe I would be justified in 

 wagering that at this present time the X rays 

 of Roentgen's cathode could scarcely pene- 

 trate its impervious depths. 



The result was that the conditions of life of 

 the perch, the blue-gill and the bass so jn be- 



