I03 



Which shows that the fishing interests of the State of 

 Wisconsin are worth protecting. 



In conclusion, I will say a few words on carp and carp 

 ponds. Of all fish I ever tried to catch by seining carp are the 

 most difificult ; for when they find themselves surrounded by 

 the net, if they can't get under it they will leap over it. As 

 the temperature of the water at the hatchery was too low to 

 successfully raise carp, the Commission leased a breeding pond, 

 located about two miles from the hatchery, and covering 

 about two acres. In the spring of 1887, I placed in this pond 

 our large carp, and in May had a lot of willows cut and placed 

 in the pond for the fish to spawn on. One day I went to the 

 pond for some large fish for an aquarium, and as the pond 

 could not be drawn down, I thought I could soon catch them 

 by seining. But we seined two days and did not get a large 

 fish. Another day, later in the season, we went to the pond 

 for some fry to ship, and my two little boys, aged five and 

 eight years, went along to pass the time away playing around 

 the pond. Before beginning to fish, I had all the willows taken 

 from the water and placed upon the bank, and, to amuse 

 themselves, the boys rolled some of the willows back into the 

 water. After some time we came to where the brush was to 

 make a haul, and as we began removing it, were surprised 

 to see numerous small fish dart from under the branches. 

 Without taking out any more of the brush, we carefully sur- 

 rounded it with the net and were very much surprised when 

 we drew it in to take out of it 5,000 small, and fifty large carp. 

 After taking care of the fish, we soon replaced the brush at 

 about a dozen different places around the pond, and in this way 

 we could catch all the fish — either large or small, we wanted, 

 as they seemed to seek the brush for shelter and to hide. 



I do not think there would be the large losses of carp in 

 winter, if in the fall people would place a lot of brush in the 

 centre, or deepest part, of their ponds, as the fish would 

 naturally seek the brush and not the shoal water, and thus 

 avoid being frozen in the mud. People who have carp ponds 

 that cannot be drawn down, will find this experiment beneficial 

 in catching their fish as well as serving as a protection. 



Madison, Wis. 



