290 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Mas 12, 1881. 



Forest and Si rami Publishing Co., New York. Volumes 

 of Forest .and Stukam. 



Charles Scrihner& Sous. New York. " The Game Fishes 

 Of the United Slates." 



S. Thaxter & Co., Boston. Eldridge.'s coast charts. 

 Eon o rul ilt Mm turn. 



Hydrogrnphic Office, TJ, S. A., Washington. Charts of 

 I he coast survey. 



Bass Fishing in the Potomac- The Washington Post is 

 responsible for saying that the fishing season has opened 

 most auspiciously. The Potomac River swarms with bass 

 and perch, and the gamy fish manifest a voracious appetite 

 for the bait. A favorite resort for bass is in the Little Falls, 

 just above the Chain bridge ; but the Great Falls, some fif- 

 teen miles up the river, offers still better sport to the fisher- 

 man. A few days ago Mr. Carson, of H. D. Cooke, Jr., & 

 Co., caught twelve large bass at the Little Falls inside of six 

 hours, in weight from one to three and a half pounds each; 

 and in the course of a single morning Mr. Thompson Nailor 

 captur. d seventeen fine large hass in the same locality. Mr, 

 Jack Harlan reports a catch of twenty-eight bass, weighing 

 from one to four pounds, in a single day, at the Great Fal s. 

 Old man Dyer, the. veteran fisherman, is camped for the sea- 

 son at the Great Falls; his catch averages from twenty-live 

 to thirty fine bass daily, and his friends in the district are 

 abundantly supplied wilh delicious brain food. All the ex- 

 perts pronounce bass- fishing this year better than ever before 

 on the Potomac River. The river is well stocked with 

 perch, and the boyB have great sport with this species of the 

 finny tribe, pronouncing the perch as gamy as the bass. The 

 best place for perch is at Bads' mill, above the Chain Bridge. 

 One day this week Messrs. L. R. Livingston and J. E. De 

 Sauls, of the Treasury Department, caught 300 perch, weigh- 

 ing from a quarter to one and a quarter pounds each. Every 

 day the river in the locality named is visited by scores of 

 fishermen ; each rock is pre-empted at an early hour, and a 

 small fleet of boats are anchored off the mill. Mr. O'Meara, 

 of the sportiug bazaar, says that the demand for fishing- 

 tackle is unprecedented. Senators Hampton and McPherson 

 are enthusiastic fishermen, with an especial fondness for bass 

 They use the artificial fly, and maintain that the bass take to 

 it sooner than they do the live bait. Senator Edmunds is 

 another ardent lover of bass-fishing — he follows in the foot- 

 steps of Daniel Webster, who was a great fisherman, and 

 • mid frequently be seen on the bunks of the 'Potomac with 

 rod in hand. Senator Vest, of Missouri, is as fond of the 

 sprvrt as is ex- Vice-President Wheeler. He has a beauty of a 

 split bamboo that only weighs eight ounces; wiih it the Sena- 

 tor can laud with perfect ease a bass weighing fully five 

 pounds. Several members of the Cabinet" are" very happy 

 when they get a "bite," and President Garfield, in his early 

 days, was an earnest and successful fisherman. In the Gov- 

 ernment departments there are. a number of very fine Niin- 

 rods who devote their Sundays and holidays to the denizens 

 of the Potomac. The sport will increase as the season ad- 

 vances, and there need be no apprehension that ihe bass aud 

 perch will become scarce in the river in this locality. 



The " Taylo]:."— Recently we had occasion to speak of 

 I'omatomiti mltaliix and, to make it perfectly clear what fish 

 we referred to, gave it its northern name of "blneflsh" and 

 its southern one of " tailor," as we aud others spelled it. It 

 has often been a matter of wonder how such a fish could 

 have, been called a "tailor," for although he han needles 

 enough in his back he has no eyes in them. We pressed the 

 matter home to the fi-hermen, but the thread of their obser- 

 vations were uever waxed with a bit of information, and 

 sew it would seam to be one of those things which have he- 

 come clothed with authority by custom without reason. It 

 does not suit our columns to go deeper into the subject, and 

 we will cut the matter short by scissoring the following from 

 a letter written by Mr. tf. H. 'Clark, of Tennessee, to whom 

 we and our readers are under obligations for the information: 

 " In your last number you speak of the bluefish being called 

 ' tailor ' at the South. This is an error ; they are called 

 " Taylor," so named from their having appeared for the first 

 time off the coasts of North Carolina and Virginia, and in 

 immense numbers, about the time. General Zachary Taylor 

 was inaugurated President of the United States." 



Shad Take the Fly. — An Augusts, Ga., correspondent 

 writes that shad are very plenty in the Savannah River, and 

 he asks if they will take the fly. Shad take the fly very 

 freely at Holyoke, Mass., just below the bridge across Ihe 

 Connecticut River- We know of no other place where there 

 is any certainty of so taking them, although they have been 

 caught in other places. The shad cannot pass this point on 

 the Connecticut, and some are cruel enough to say that, they 

 ate so thick below the bridge that the fly gets in their mouths 

 by accident. The fly is not cast, but is used on an eight-foot 

 rod and allowed to drift down the swift current for two hun- 

 dred feet or more. 



Thr Ii-ihthtoi'h agists.— "The Ichthyophagous Club will 

 dine," says the Purest and Stream, and the editor of that 

 paper calls upon his subscribers in all the four quarters of the 

 globe to send him iu "hellbenders," toadfish, horshoe crabs, 

 bearer tails, and other delicacies of the vasty deep and interior 

 mucl pi -inds. With the Forest and Stream as purveyor 

 extraordinary, we can conceive of no reason why the deter- 

 mined but misguided members of the Ichthyophagous Club 

 Should not. satisfy their craving for inedible reptiles aud 

 indigestible crawlers. Besides its piscatorial matter the 

 Koi-rm' awd Stkeam has a critical report of the late bench 

 show, and its usual complement of sketches and communica- 

 tions from correspondents. The number this week is in 

 every way an excellent one. — New YorkCc mm enM'/L ' Adtertixer. 



The New York J'iirwx has devoted columns to the coming 

 dinner, aud a. gaunt and hungry man clambered into the edi- 

 torial rooms with the query, "Say, Mister, when does the 

 Sarcophagus dine?" 



Lake MGOATTtro, Que., May 1.— "Winter still lingers in 

 the lap of Spring" In this vicinity, aud from present appear- 

 ances Spring has got a permanent job on her hand'* (or rather 

 in her lap). The anaw is two feet deep in the woods aud the 

 ice ditto on the lake. Lunge are caught at this writing at 

 the upper end of the lake, with live bait, through the ice, 

 and sell for 10 cents per pound. They nro a better fish than 

 those caught in the Kennebec and Penobscot waters. When 

 the (routing season opens I am in hopes of being able to 

 send you something interesting, and in the meantime shall 

 be happy to answer any inquiries from gentlemen who think 

 of visiting this locality the coming season.— Penobscot. 



A Lost Grayling. — Bellevue, Eaton Co., Mich., May 3. — 

 Down here in the south part of this State a man fishing for 

 rock baas, with worms for bait, caught a grayling, probably 

 the only one ever caught around here. This river (Battle 

 Creek) is a much dammed stream, both for mechanical pur- 

 poses and for the scarcity of fish. It empties into the Kala- 

 mazoo River, and that into Lake Michigan. How did that 

 fish get here?— C. 



An Old Cart\— An obituary of a fish is one of the queer 

 items in a Paris paper. One of the fattest carps, it says, in 

 the lake at Fontainbleau has just died. It was called Fanny, 

 and is believed to have been born in the reign of Francis I , 

 or nearly 400 years ago. She was accustomed every after- 

 noon to show herself to an admiring crowd, and accept 

 crumbs from their hands, as she had done in times past from 

 the hands of many of the KiDgs of France. 



Black Bass, Sauce Diplomats.— After thoroughly scald- 

 ing, cleaning aud removing the fins of the fish, put it into a 

 fish kettle with a bunch of parsley, an onion cut into slices, 

 salt, pepper, a bottle of white wine or cider, and half a pint 

 of water, first wrapping the fish in a sheet of buttered paper. 

 Put the kettle on the fire and boil very slowly. Serve with 

 a sauce composed of cream bechamel mixed with a crayfish 

 eulli8. — The Gartronomwt. 



The Muskoka Disteiot. — We have received from the 

 publisher, Mr. G. Mercer Adam, Toronto, Canada, a large 

 " Map of the Muskoka and Parry Sound Districts." It sliows 

 the roads, post offices, telegraph stations, etc., and is a very 

 great aid to sportsmen tourists visiting that famous camping 

 country. 



Florida Bass Fishing— Twin Lake, Fla., April 20.— Bass 

 fishing is fine now. I took twenty not long since in less 

 than an hour's fishing in the St. Johns, which would have 

 weighed not far from fifty pounds. Phantom minnow was 

 the attraction, which is my stand-by for river fishing. — S. 



Colorado. — Price, Conejos County. —My residence is here, 

 three-aud-a-half miles from the south line of Colorado, on the 

 NavajoRiver, first watersstarting toward the Pacific. Eighteen 

 miles to nearest neighbors, grandest scenery and best place 

 for fishing and hunting in the mountains.— Bakzillai Prior. 



Lake Megantic— E. J. T. wishes information as to the 

 best me.ins at present, of reaching Lake Megantic, with name 

 of reliable guide and expenses. 



Calif bsJA. TiOBa'iifqt.- R. W. wishes names of public or 

 private houses among the pine forests in the northern part of 

 California where horses and good accommodations can be 

 had, and where there is an abundance of trout fishing. 



i$H i^itm^. 



THE CARP AND IT8 OULTTJKE.* 

 ByHouoi.ph Heskel, Soft. U. 8- Carp PoKds, Washinoton, D. C. 



I now proceed to give a few rules of general importance for the 

 construction and management of carp-ponds. 



The ponds should hare as shallow ft border as possible. Their 

 depth should be in accordance with their size, one foot in the cul- 

 ture or rognlar carp-ponds where large fishes are kept j )4 foot in 

 breeding and % to }., foot in hatching poods. The borders should 



be of considerable width ; it is desirabl 

 number of such shallows be contrived i 

 principal feeding places of the carp. 



Another important condition to be a 

 water in ponds must be of the sat 

 variation in thin having an injuria 



Ponds of smaller ch-cumf'er 

 are, according to 



any case that a great 

 ponds, as these arc the 



be considered is this— that the 

 o depth all the year round, any 

 is influence upon the fishes, 

 e, of from 10 to 15 acres, 



eel, hotter suited for carp-culture 



.. . ..-y large ones, 100 to 1,000 acres iu extent. Thoso are fre- 

 quently touud iu Central Europe upon tracts of land belonging to 

 some princely domain. In (ho former the tish finds more Becurity, 

 the bottom of the pond being smoother ; it also suffers loss from 

 the waves, these being high and rough iu large ponds, becoming 

 very detrimental to the spawn aud breeding tishos, especially dur- 

 ing storms, when they aro cast ashore and become the prey of 

 water-fowls or perish in some other manner. 



The diminution of water by evaporation must be made up for by 

 a fresh supply ; this, however, rnut-t not exceed the quantity actu- 

 ally needed for maintenance of 'the regular height of water. 

 Sniall ponds of from one to fifty acres area, which serve some 

 commercial or industrial purpose, as mills, etc., and which are 

 constantly varying the height of their water, cannot be considered 

 as favorable or regular culture-ponds. Although the fishes may 

 grow to ft pretty good size in Ihsm, they must stall be regarded as 

 belonging to the category of waters for "free lisliing," like lakes 

 and riv rs. In these neither the height of water, nor the hatching 

 of the eggs, nor yet the increase of aquatic animals can be regu- 

 lated at will. Still, leaving these waters to lie waste on this ac- 

 count would be a pity, for if stocked with carp they will, in spite 

 of all disadvantages, remunerate the proprietor, "aud the care 

 which lie bestows on them will bo a source of much ptoaBure. 



Ibeg to make some remarks, jjn conclusion, relative to tbe intro- 

 duction of the carp and its increase iu open waters, iu which it is 

 solelv left to the care of nature, and to which subject I alluded at 

 the c'ommoncemei t 



We introduce into our waters migrating fishes, such as the sal- 

 mon aud shad, and find it profitable, for the reason [bat they con- 

 sume but little food in the rivers, growing up iu the sea aud as- 

 cending into fresli water as large fishes. We also maintain in our 

 lakes whitefish, bass, pike, etc. TheBeare all fond of animal food 

 and belong iu part to the class of fishes of prey. The carp, on the 

 contrary, lives npon vegetable food, insects, lame and worms, hut 

 it never attacks other fisbes or their spawn. It can be produced iu 

 masses and then be transferred into the waters destined for its re- 

 ception. This can be done either by artificial impregnation and 

 hatching, or in the way of natural increase. 



For each of theso methods two ways of action are open ; (1.) 

 tbe spawn can be trausfeired to open water as soon as it is free 

 from the egg, or, (2,) the young fishes may be kept in ponds for a 



season until they have had time to grow— that is, for on. ™ i 



Iu the latter case, the rule that fishes which are destined for open 

 waters must uot be artificially fed is to he strictly adhered to. 

 Carp which have been used to feed iu that, maimer will not be so 

 apt to iind the food for themselves which, until then, had been 

 supplied to them. Tormented by hunger, they will lose the fear 

 of their enemies and the consequent cautiousness, falling an easy 

 prey to them before many weeks will have elapsed. 



If artificial feeding is not intended, the ponds for the reception 

 of the small fishes must bo proportionately larger, so that they 

 may find food in sufficient quantities iu a natural way. Both 

 methods have their advantages. If the young fry is transferred 

 into open water five or six days after hatching there will he no 



•From "The Carp and Its culture in Elvers and Lakes, ami Its 

 Introduction in America," oelng 1'artIV of tUe Report of the U. S. 

 Flan Commission, 1675-76. 



pond during the first months 

 j those which have reached a 

 - it wilt be more advantageous 

 ,ug tbe young fishes iu the 



necessity for the establishing of large ponds. A great number of 

 eggs must, however, be hutched in this case, for the small fishes 

 will be destroyed iu vast numbers by their enemies. 



Tbe better method of the two is certainly this : To keep the 

 young fishes in large ponds until tho fall, n hen they will havo 

 reached the age of five or six months. During this time they will 

 have had the opportunity to learn how to And their food by their 

 own efforts, such ponds producing it profusely to satisfy all their 

 wants, and thus they will he prepared lw their Stay in open waters. 

 To carry through the latter method a larger extent of water is re- 

 quired, nature itself having indicated precisely the conditions 

 under which and tho limits in which the natural and unimpaired 

 growth of the young fishes may be expected, 



They do not require as extens-ivi 

 ol their development and growth 

 more advanced age. For this real 

 to choose the middle way by ret 



ponds for about one or two months aud then" to gTvo them their 

 liberty instead of transferring them immediatelv after the hatch- 

 ing or keeping them for five of six months. By acting upon this 

 suggestion, tho incalculable advantage will be' gained that the 

 fishes profit by the rich food of the open waters during the season 

 and will have grown strong enough to right more successfullv for 

 their existence. For this purpose establishments lor artflicinl 

 breeding, constructed with a regard to the demands of climate, aro 

 essentially needful in these open waters, so that the greatest pos- 

 sible number of eggs may be hatched. 



In Europe the subject of stocking opon waters with carp has 

 been discussed, because there, in its native country, its excellent 

 iirla ptatton for this purpose has boon recognised. 



I observed above that thin fish is found iu greatnumbers in most 

 of the European rivers, particularly iu the Khine. Although this 

 river has a very swift current, which at times forms rapids, here 

 neither mud nor suitable ground is to he found which would qualify 

 these localities for feeding places for tho rather indolent carp ; 

 still, there are numbers of shallows and small creeks, the borders 

 of n hien are richly overgrown with grass and Feshtca Jluitans, 

 where the fishes find food plentiful and multiply. 



Tho river carp is not as fleshy as the pond carp ; this is accounted 

 for by the groat amount of bodily exercise which it is naturally 

 compelled to take . In uiauy places it is more highly appreciated 

 than the pond carp, probably because the river water does not im- 

 part to it the moldy taste which is sometimes found with tbe carp 

 inhabiting ponds situated in marshy localities and morasses which 

 have not a sufficient, supply of fresh water. 



The assertion in regard £o the preference given to the river call) 

 will be found to be correct, especially in regard to tho rivers Bhiuo, 

 Elbo, Weser, Vistula. Loire, Rhone, Garonne and the Danube. 

 The latter is celebrated in soug as the beautiful, blue Danube : in 

 reality itB water has, during the greater part of the year, a grayish- 

 white, muddy color, and a very swift, current. It has, however, 

 particularly iu Austria, Hungary and the lowlands in genera), 

 which border upon it, numerous branches which creep along slug- 

 gishly, and also many creeks with almost stagnant water. 



A great number of fishes of prey inhabit this river ; the pike, 

 perch, the rapacious Hucho (Salmo hucho), and, above all, the 

 never satisfied Welx (Sihn-ns glniiis), which, ill the lower Danube 

 reaches a weight, of 500 pounds. Its habits being similar to those 

 of tho oarp, it lies on the mud banks or reeding places ol this fish 

 and becomes its most dangerous enemy and tusatiable destroyer, 

 and still the carp increases in the Danube. From the city of Ulm, 

 whore this river begins to he navigable, after its escape 'from tho 

 Black Forest, a thousand nulcs downward to its month on the 

 Black Sea, as also in this one, the carp is found. To this fact al- 

 lusion has been made on a former occasion. Tho carp thrives 

 best in those parts of the Danube where the water is least clear, at 

 the influx of the muddy watet of its tributaries. At one time I 

 wag present at a draught of a some which took place close to the 

 quay of the City of Pestb, in Hungary, and was arranged bvMri 

 Szihelsky Ferentz. At that point the river is constantly plowed 

 by steamers, steam tugs, Canal and ferry boats, and it would have 

 soemud that there could uot be many fishes there, yet 300 fine carp, 

 weighing from one to live pounds each, were taken iu one draught 

 of the net, within the distance of about one-quarter of an English 

 mile. The carp is partial to this locality, because it finds abundant 

 food there hi the offal from kitchens, slaughter-houses, breweries, 

 and the sewers of both the cities of Ofen and Pesth. In the 

 European lakes, for instance iu tho hikes of Constance, Zurich 

 and Geneva, the car]) comes sometimes from these into the ports 

 to a auk for fool 



Companug the water of the Danube with that of the Mississippi, 

 I feel convinced that I may safely assert that the carp would thrive 

 excellently in the latter, although its water appears to he even 

 more muddy and rapid than that of tho Danube, and I believe this 

 to be true of the Mississippi and Ohio and many others of its trib- 

 utaries. The Mississippi has near its borders "many spots where 

 the current is slow and which are partially covered' with vegota- 

 tion j there are also numerous creeks, where the fishes would find 

 food plentifully in tho alluvial mud on the banks. What has been 

 said of Mississippi will bo found to be the ease with many other, 

 or probably nearly all, American rivers. They will be found to bo 

 adapted for the introduction of the carp, so long as they are not 

 mouutain torrents which have to break their w f ay through rooky 

 aud pebbly ground. The increase of this fish is of great import- 

 ance from an economical point of view, especially so in regard to 

 tho southwestern waters. 



Under the present circuniRtauces it, is to be hoped that the en- 

 deavors which have been made for this purpose may before long be 

 rewarded by success and become a fait aceompi and that the diftj- 

 cidties which will have to be overcome may not prevent the achieve- 

 ment of it. The effort will and must meet with success at last. 



5. — TAK1NQ TUE FISH FBOM THE POCT8. 



The emptying out of ponds demands the greatest caution and at- 

 tention. The water must be made to flow off very gradually 

 through the several outlets, all of which are to be kept' open at the 

 same time; it reqnires frequently fiom teu to eighteen days to 

 draw off the water. The fishes are driven carefully aud slowly 

 with boats into the principal ditches. They must not be chased on 

 any account, or they will bury f 

 aliv many thousands will do so 



main there, pressed together cl 

 irded as 



ich ; occasion- 

 a few moments and will re- 

 nd so perish through suffo- 

 scurred from time to (line, 

 „ the process of driving them into the ditches, tho 

 fished were, startled by some unknown cause and all sank into the 

 mud instantaneously. Through the impossibility of extricating 

 them speedily enough, many hundreds and even thousands per- 

 ished, the owner sustaining heavy losses in consequence. To 

 guard against such an emergency, preparations Bhould be made for 

 an immediate supply of water in similar cases, in order to save tho 

 fishes. Ifthe fishing out progresses in the regular manner the 

 fishes will by degrees draw off from the ditches into the collector. 

 The collecting takes from live to six days iu large ponds, contain- 

 ing frequently 100 to 400 tons of fishes. Care Bhould be taken, 

 that crowding them together may be avoided. On tbe evening be- 

 fore the fishing-ont, when the water of the pond has been dimin- 

 ished to the depth of half a foot, those fishes which have been 

 collected are shut off from the pond by a largo net aud in the early 

 morning, at tho dawn of day, they are caught. As bo large a num- 

 ber of fishes cannot be disposed of at once, they are transferred to 

 the so-called market pouds, from which thev are sold by degrees to 

 fish dealers. Those market ponds are quite small, eapabb of hold- 

 ing from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds of fish only an " 

 running water. 



Those who never saw the fishing-ont of a carp pond c 

 imagine tho beautiful sight of so many thousand fine fisbes, fat a: 

 well fed. raisiug their high, broad backs and th 

 iter, their heads side bv side, all being 



qpliel with 



size, weighing from four to lb . 

 iog against each other, looking like 

 prisoned in one large net upon a c 

 feet. Closer aud closer the circle ii 

 extent measures only about, two 



ids, 



' the same 

 ioly presB- 

 n immense nera ot sheep, im- 

 •cumteronce ot o,0U0 toiOfW 

 drawn around them, until its 

 when they are caught by 



extern, measures inny anum,. i.uu acres, v. uen Luej ata caugub uy 



thousands, weighed in lots of 100 pounds, and then they are placed 



