294 



AMERICAN FISHES. 



CARP FISHING. 



THIS, I confess, I regard as very miserable sport, for though the 

 fish 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. 



His proper haunts are deep, stagnant, slow-flowing streams, or ponds 

 with muddy bottoms ; and he lies under weeds, and among the stems 

 and flat leaves of water-lilies, flags, and marsh -grasses. 



Not indigenous to this country, he has been naturalized in the 

 waters of the Hudson, where he is, for the present, protected by 

 severe legislative enactments. 



He will doubtless, ere long, become very plentiful ; and as he is a 

 rich fish when cooked secundum arlem, and by many esteemed a great 

 delicacy, he is likely enough to become a favorite with the angler. 



Hofland thus describes the method of baiting the ground and fishing 

 for Carp in England, and his directions are the best I have seen ; they 

 may by followed with implicit confidence : 



" In rivers, the Carp prefer those parts where the current is not too 

 strong, and where the bottom is marly, or muddy ; and in lakes or 

 ponds are to' be found near beds of water-lilies, and other aquatic 

 plants. Old Carp are very crafty and wary, and will not easily be 

 taken by the angler ; but young ones, when a pond is well stocked, 

 may be easily taken in great quantities. 



u Notwithstanding these instances of familiarity, it is by no means 

 easy to make a large Carp familiar with your bait : to do this, the 

 greatest nicety and caution must be observed ; but if the young angler, 

 who has been often foiled in his attempts, will patiently and implicitly 

 follow my instructions, he will become a match for this cunning fish. 



" Use a strong rod with running-tackle, and have a bottom of 

 three yards of fineish gut, and a hook No. 9 or 10 ; use a very light 



