March 11, 1893] 
THE PISHING GAZETTE 
173 
Comsponirmc 
[TFe do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions 
expressed by our Correspondents.] 
“ One of the charms of angling is that it presents an 
endless field for argument, speculation, and experi¬ 
ment.” — T. E. Pritt. 
IMMENSE CARP. 
Sir, —Since your printer has mislaid the 
cutting from the Sussex Daily Neivs of the 
beginning of February, I can easily supply the 
main facts near enough for all practical purposes. 
The weights of the two fish, I know, are exactly 
those given. Here goes. 
In the Sussex Daily News, early in February, 
a paragraph appeared something to this effect. 
A very large carp had recently been found 
dead in a pond at West Harting, or West 
Harring—I think the former—and had been 
much devoured by rats. Now this big carp had 
been taken out of the pond six months before, 
when cleaning out the pond, and weighed 291b. 
The writer mentioned that from the same pond 
a twenty-four pounder had previously been taken, 
and this fish was popularly supposed to be the 
largest carp known in England. 
But what of a carp only one pound short of 
thirty ? 
The paragraph, I think, mentions that the find 
was on the property of a clergyman, or that it 
had his warranty—the Rev.-. 
What would the monks of old have said to 
such a fish .P 
Perhaps some reader can lay his hand on the 
identical cutting. 
I am no carp fisherman myself, though I have 
killed a few in my day, when I could not find any 
trout fishing near hand. But a thirty pounder ! 
And then to become the prey of rats ! 
“ To such base uses may we not come at last! 
May we not trace the dust of Alexander till we 
find it stopping a bunghole.®”— Shakespeare. 
—I am, &c., _ E. M. Ton. 
Be ANGLING AT THIRSK. 
Dear Sir, —“ Keeldar ” is quite correct about 
the situation of Thirsk. It is four miles from 
the Wiske, in which there is grand pike, roach, 
chub, and eel fishing. It is also four miles from 
the Swale, with fishing as above. 
Leave to fish in the above streams must be 
obtained from owners or tenants. The Codbeck, 
on which Thirsk is situated, is an excellent trout 
and grayling stream. 
There is an angling club here, but the com¬ 
mittee do not grant leave to strangers. 
Trusting the above will be of use to “ Keeldar,” 
—I remain, yours faithfully, Graylino. 
Market Place, Thirsk, March 4, 1893. 
MORTALITY AMONG DACE IN A POND. 
Sir, —Dace require continual running waters, 
the same as salmon. They will not thrive in 
ponds where there is only an occasional run of 
water, as the minute water-lice attack them, 
which causes a fungus which is fatal to all fish. 
Roach, rudd, and perch, also trouts will grow 
lusty with a continual supply, as I know from 
experiences in England and Germany. 
A few years since I accompanied the late in¬ 
spector of fisheries, Frank Buckland, to the 
Round Pond in Kensington Gardens to examine 
and report to the Board of Works the reason of 
the large bream and roach dying. We netted 
several out, they were patched with a fungus, 
which under the microscope revealed it full of 
minute water-lice which were literally sucking 
the fish to death. The cause was the want of 
fresh water; this was pumped in from the arte¬ 
sian well which supplies the fountains, and cured 
the evil. Salmon are attacked by similar lice 
when there is a drought, more noticeable in 
spawning time when they frequent the shallows. 
At West Drayton the Colne is a fast river, so 
much so it never gets covered with ice. The 
dace and roach are large and silvery. The late 
Hubert de Burgh, owner of the estate, had a 
pond made close to his fishing cottage, which 
was supplied by a pipe from the river, this pond 
was stocked with chub, roach, and dace for his 
lady friends to angle for, but in a year or two 
the fish became diseased and died off. The cause 
was the supply pipe becoming stopped up. It 
was pitiable to see the poor fish at the mouth of 
the supply pipe gasping for fresh water. Self 
and friend took a quantity out with a landing- net 
and returned them to the river. The late Frank 
Buckland had some fine grayling presented to him 
for his museum, and they were put into a tank 
which was supplied with running water. They 
soon showed fungus. F. B. rubbed them with salt, 
but it was of no use. Grayling, like dace, require 
rapid streams, in which they are free from the 
parasitic fungus, Saprolegnia ferax. 
I quite agree with the editor of Fishing Gazette 
that large lumps of rock salt distributed in a 
slow water pond is sure to do good, but continual 
running water is the surest cure. How these 
parasites originate no one knows, they are like 
mites in a cheese, the better the quality the more 
in family.—Yours truly, T. R. Sachs. 
ROACH KILLED BY HERON. 
Dear Sir, —I send the following thinking it 
may be of interest to you and your readers :— 
On the Friday before Christmas Day last I 
went to fish a river not fifty miles from London, 
and while walking along its banks I saw a heron 
rise and flap lazily away about fifty yards from 
me, and on getting to the spot where he had 
been I came upon a magnificent roach, which I 
am sure must have weighed close upon 21b., still 
very much alive, although about a third of one 
side of it had been eaten away, beginning at the 
tail and going up to the back. In the middle of 
the eaten part there was a wound as though the 
bill of the heron had pierced it through; on the 
other side there was not a scale away, and it was 
indeed a splendid fish. About 100 yards further 
I came across another roach about l^lb. weight; 
it had not been dead long, but had not been 
eaten in any part. I threw both fish as far as I 
could from the river, and on the next morning, 
in identically the same spot, I found the remains 
of a fish that would have weighed at least Ijlb., 
the whole of one side entirely gone: and within 
a few yards of the second one I came across the 
belly part of another splendid roich, and as it 
had the ventral fin and the two middle fins left, I 
took it to compare with the fish I had caught on 
the Friday, some of which weighed 11b. 12oz. 
each, and I found the fins were far larger and 
further apart than the largest I had; this making 
four splendid roach in two days. 
On Saturday week, in the same spot as I found 
the first, I saw a great quantity of scales and 
some pieces of gill with the largest of the two 
sets of teeth I have sent you; and on the spot 
I found the second fish there was the remains of 
a large roach, all the flesh being gone, leaving 
the bones, scales, part of gills, and the other 
teeth. Besides these two spots mentioned, in 
many places, within 200 yards, are large scales 
to be seen scattered about. I have seen two 
herons hovering about the river, and what it 
must cost to keep them going constantly with 
such fish as I have described is beyond my 
calculation.—Yours truly, Brother Jack. 
267, Pentonville-road, King’s Cross, N. 
A GOOD OPENING ON THE YTHAN. 
Dear Sir, —It may interest and possibly attract 
some of your readers to the far north to hear the 
result of the opening day on the River Ythan, so 
far as I was concerned. 
I fished the Castle Ellon water from the village 
of Ellon seawards for about a mile and a half. 
The river was in good order. On the non-tidal 
portion, fishing fly during the first part of the 
day, I was not vei’y successful, having to return 
seven kelt sea-trout and one kelt salmon. The 
following two hours were hopelessly wasted, 
fishing really good water, but on the north side 
where no casting was possible on account of tbe 
trees overhanging and the impossibility of 
wading. 
After lunch, my companion, the factor, suggested 
our crossing the ferry at Rae’s Mill. Prom the 
beautiful stream there I had some twelve to 
eighteen clean sea-trout. About three o’clock 
Mr. Hugh McDonald, the Ellon gamekeeper, 
came down and advised me to try a point still 
further east, where he had within a few minutes 
landed eleven with a friend’s rod. Although the 
“ take ” seemed over and the frost was setting in, 
I complied, with the result that a dozen or so 
more were added to the basket. 
Had I spent the day on the lower water where 
I finished, I am assured I could have bagged 
sixty or eighty pounds easily. The water is 
simply swarming with these—what we call 
finnofks. They take small double March Browns 
greedily. A 13ft. or 14ft. rod and fine tackle 
gives best sport, and the month of March is the 
best month. The inn at Ellon is everything that 
could be desired, and mine host, Mr. Lamont, is 
equal to his inn. 
I understand that the water is to be thrown 
open to the public, in the absence of the shooting 
and^ fishing tenant, for a trifling sum of 2s. or 
2 s. 6d. per diem. 
I have not the slightest hesitation in saying 
that this water is the most prolific in Scotland 
for sea-trout fishing, and at the same time 
secluded, remote, and beautiful. 
I see I have omitted to say that my basket—I 
mean my fish without my basket—weighed thirty 
pounds.—Yours truly, Andrew Murray. 
SEA PISHING AT SEATON, DEVON, 
END OP MARCH. 
Dear Sir, —Can you kindly inform me in your 
“ Answers to Correspondents ” whether there is 
any sea angling from the shore or quay at Seaton 
(Devon) about the end of this month. I know 
that in summer there is good bass fishing at the 
mouth of the Axe, but fear it will be too early 
for them. Being undecided whether it is worth 
while to take down my rod and tackle, I thought, 
perhaps, you could guide me in the matter.— 
Yours faithfully, _ Geo. H. Rippin. 
A GOOD DAY’S PIKE PISHING.—WIRE 
TRACES. 
Dear Sir, —I had a good day among the pike 
on the 7th, on private water, landing during the 
day twenty fish, of which, eleven had to be 
returned, being under five pounds each. The 
nine I brought home weighed 97|lb. The best 
fish weighed (late in the evening) 191b. 14t)z.; 
the extreme length was 41iin., the girth 171in.: 
it was in poor condition, apparently having re¬ 
cently spawned. I took all spinning small roach, 
on gut-mounted flights, and a single salmon gut 
trace, supplied by Bambridge. I also ran and 
lost four others. Many thanks to correspondents’ 
replies to my queries, “re wire traces.”—Yours 
truly, _ A. D. C. 
TROUT OR GRAYLING PISHING IN THE 
TYROL. 
Dear Sir, —I should be much obliged if any 
of your readers 'would inform me ■ft'here in the 
Austrian Tyrol good trout or grayling fishing 
can be obtained. I am thinking of going to that 
part of the Continent at the end of August next, 
and should be glad to hear of a good fishing 
district, where there is a warm climate, and 
satisfactory accommodation. Any further infor¬ 
mation as to flies, &c., would be most acceyjtable. 
—Yours truly, T. B. 
[Perhaps Herr Emil Weegel, President of the 
Briinn Piscatorial Society, may be able to reply 
to this. Sir Humphrey Davy’s Salmonia gives 
very useful general information, but, of course, 
is long out of date.— Ed.] 
A QUERY FROM LOCHMADDY. 
Sir, —I send you to-day, under a separate cover, 
two out of a number of little fish which dropped 
from a brown trout of about Ipb. killed to-day 
by Sheriff Webster on the Stramore. 
These fish are apparently of a species strange 
to the district, and it will be observed that both 
are full of spawn. Perhaps you may be able to 
identity them, and if you think the matter worth 
noticing, it might be referred to in the next issue 
of the Gazette. 
“ Stramore ” is brackish water, and the trout 
was in excellent condition.—I am, yours faith¬ 
fully, James M. Fraser. 
[Dr. Giinther, of the British Museum, has 
kindly identified the fish as “ adult specimens of 
a small species of loby—GoSiits minuius.” —Eu.] 
