36 TAME CARP CARP BASKING. [PART 1. 



ing the fish, not to throw in any ground-bait, 

 until the actual bait is ready, yet I am far from 

 saying that general ground-baiting in the place 

 where you intend to fish is a bad plan. On the 

 contrary, the more you feed in a particular place, 

 the more certain will the Carp be to resort to it, 

 and, by constantly doing so, you may get them 

 to become nearly or quite as tame as barn-door 

 fowls. I may instance those in the pond of the 

 garden attached to the Kursaal at Wiesbaden, 

 which are really a curious sight. Much more 

 interest and amusement is to be derived from 

 Carp than people in general are at all aware of: 

 it seems a pity that they should be so neglected 

 as they are in England. 



When Carp are basking on the surface of the 

 water, they can scarcely ever be induced to take 

 a bait; nevertheless, if feeding is going on at the 

 bottom, they before very long by some myste- 

 rious sense become aware of it, and will wake 

 up and "go below to dine." But though you 

 cannot catch them with a bait, while thus bask- 

 ing, yet you may occasionally do so without 

 one, by lightly throwing over and foul-hooking 

 them. This plan, with a large weighted treble 

 hook, is sometimes adopted with destructive effect 



