620 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 
He then goes on to tell when one should fish, the kinds of bait that 
should be used, and ends with an elaborate recipe for its cooking. 
Perhaps the best directions for fishing for carp with hook and line 
are those quoted from Pennell by Goode (1888, p. 414) in his popular 
treatise on American Fishes. 
Early in the morning, and, occasionally, late in the evening, are the best times for 
fishing; but, as observed, the catching of Carp with the rod and line is always a diffi- 
cult and uncertain operation, particularly if the fish are large. The smaller the pond, 
the better the chance I have always found of catching Carp and Tench, though, of 
course, they are not so large as in bigger waters. I once caught a bucketful of Carp 
before breakfast, in a pond by the side of a road between Weybridge and Byfleet, 
which was not bigger than an ordinary sized ball-room. The biggest of these Carp 
did not, however, exceed 2 pounds in weight. 
The following is the method of Carp fishing in stagnant waters which I have 
found most successtul: 
Let the line be entirely of medium sized or fine round gut—clouded, if possible— 
with a very light quill float, say No. 4, and one good-sized shot, about 6 inches or so 
from the hook, which should be No. 5 or 6 and baited with a brandling or red worm. 
Plumb the depth accurately; and arrange the distance between the float and the shot, 
so that the latter may exactly rest on the bottom, weighing down the point of the 
float to about ‘‘half-cock,’”’ and letting the gut below the shot and the bait lie on 
ground. Fix the rod in the bank and keep perfectly quiet. When a bite is per- 
ceived, do not strike until the float begins to move away. 
It constantly happens, however, that the Carp will not be taken either by this or 
any other mode of fishing with which I am acquainted; but if he is to be caught at 
all it is thus. 
The baits are, worms (first), gentles, greaves, grains and various sorts of pastes, 
of which latter, however, I believe the plain white bread crumb paste is the best, as 
well as the most easily made. Professor Owen, who had a good deal of Carp fishing 
experience in Virginia water, gave me the results of his practice which concur in a 
great measure with my own, except that he fished with his bait paste made of soft 
herring roe worked up with bread crumbs and wool, a favorable substitute some- 
times for the brandIing. 
In Germany the ‘angler usually prepares for his sport by * ground- 
baiting’ with a thousand or more angle-worms, twenty-four hours 
before he expects to fish, and while fishing he throws worms into the 
water.” 
While most of our sportsmen would probably indignantly object to 
having the carp classed as a game fish, it must be admitted that 
whether it should be so classed or not depends largely upon our defi- 
nition of a game fish, and, as Goode says (1888, p. xiv), ‘‘no fish 
which is not of the highest rank as a table delicacy is rated by Ameri- 
vans as a game fish.” He continues: 
The barbel, the dace, and the roach, the pets of the father of angling, classical in 
the pages of sportsmen’s literature, are despised by new world authorities, and are 
now considered ‘‘coarse fish’? even by English writers. Yet they afford excellent 
sport—sport which in Hngland tens of thousands enjoy to every one who gets, the 
chance to whip a salmon or trout line over preserved waters. 
And so it is with the carp. ‘Those who live where there is an abun- 
dance of other fish, such as bass and pickerel, or even of perch and 
