THE CARP FAMILY. l^y 



THE CHUB, OE FALLFISH. 



Leucosomus rhotheus. 



There are several species of the genus Leucosomus found in 

 the Eastern and Middle States. I therefore omit a descrip- 

 tion of any one species as a representative of the fish called 

 " Chub." 



The Chub is a persecuted individual in a Trout-stream ; 

 one whose name is cast out as a reproach amongst fly-fishers ; 

 whose head is knocked off, or he is thrown ashore on a sun- 

 shiny day to linger and die on the pebbly beach, like an 

 Ishmaelite in the sands of the great Sahara. Every man's 

 hand is against him. 



Dr. Bethune, in a note to his edition of Walton, says: 

 " The Chub in this country is the scorn and vexation of the 

 angler, and, except when large, is by no means the shy fish 

 that Walton and other English writers describe him to be ; 

 on the contrary, he is a bold biter, more ready than welcome 

 at any bait offered him." Mr. Brown, in the "American 

 Angler's Guide," says, " Their length is not usually over ten 

 inches ;" and Frank Forester writes, " The American Chub 

 never exceeds ten inches." 



The writers last quoted could not have fished many of the 

 tributaries of the Delaware and Susquehanna, or they never 

 would have recorded so gross an error. The Upper Dela- 

 ware, the Beaverkill, Scliuylkill, West Canada Creek, and 

 many other streams, abound in large Chub, and any urchin 

 «rho wets his clumsy line, with a white grub at the end of it, 

 knows better. Immediately below Frank Forester's remark 

 just quoted, I find (in a copy of his book in my possession) 

 the following note by the president of our little club : " A 



