THE CARP AND CARP FISHING 



published in ** The Fishing Gazette " was by Mr Otto Overbeck, F.C.S., 



F.G.S., in 1902. He says: 



*• The carp pond* teems with fish, of which, through a little opening 

 in the weeds, I have counted two hundred within the space of half 

 an hour, the smallest perhaps eight pounds, to such a size, as com- 

 pared with my seventeen -and -a -half pounder in the water when played, 

 the latter would appear to be but a very medium fish. Come on a cold 

 day, scarcely one will be visible, and in winter not a single fish will 

 be seen, going a long way to prove conclusively that they hibernate 

 below (covered up by) the mud. In fact, when testing the thickness 

 of the mud by crossing the pond in my long waders with the keeper 

 in the punt, I have several times stepped upon one fully a foot below 

 the surface of the mud, and the sudden shivering squirm and " let 

 down " has not been at all pleasant. When frightened they never 

 swim o£E, but dive instantly into the mud, which goes to corroborate 

 the use of the soft gill cover edges. When the warm days of April come 

 they appear again, and during the summer months spawn upon hot 

 days at indeterminate times. (I caught one of twelve and three-quarter 

 pounds full of spawn in October once.) At such periods their huge 

 bodies may be seen in masses at the rushy margins, half in and half 

 out of the water, like so many pigs wallowing. They are very fond 

 of jumping, whether after flies or not I cannot say; they can often 

 be seen to suck them in, however, swimming so superficially that their 

 back fin is quite uncovered, and moves along like a black sail. This 

 jumping is a very athletic action, since they often rise some foot 

 or so clear of the water, falling back with a huge splash and showing 

 all their orange belly and gold and black large scales, and rich red 

 brown to black fins and tail. Generally speaking, when jumping, they 

 are not feeding. 



TACKLE 



" Of the methods of fishing, I would point out that the quality of 

 the rod required will depend upon the angler, and matters little, 

 since a novice is hardly likely to inveigle a large specimen of this water 

 fox. My seventeen-and-a-half pounder was caught on an eight-ounce 

 fiy rod with No. 12 roach hook; still, I would point out the obvious 



*That U, the pond in which Mr O. caught his fish. — R. B. M. 



GO 225 



