Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1884-05-08
THE NORTHWEST
Carp Fishing.

n klNCo PSAiShNS Ah Wv
cultivation of carp: Two years ago las
November received thirty-three carp
shout three inches long. l placed then
IN my pond, and saw no more of then
until the following summer. l saw NJ
young fish the first summer, but during
the second, hundreds of young fish came
to view. Itook two with hook ant
bait in twenty-three months from the
time that | put them in. One measured
seventeen, the other nineteen inches in
length, the larger weighing three
pounds and ten ounces; SO that the in
crease and growth are all that we could
ask for. The quality am satisfied will
give better satisfaction than the great
majority of fish you can buy on the
market. They have no small bones,
and are very tenacious of life after be-
ing taken from the water, and would
keep longer than most fish without
dressing, though all fish should be
beheaded as soon as taken. Ponds may
be made by leveling or excavating or
both. They need not be fancy, and
may be irregular and in any shape that
the locality will permit. 1t takes but
a small supply of water to keep pond
of one-half an acre full. If the water
source is high enough, I should prefer
leveeing to excavating. Look out for
gravel beds or seams of gravel. There
is where you lose your water-through
the gravel. BY cuttinga trench through
the gravel and filling with clay you can
stop leakage. You should have from
four to six feet of water in some part of
the pond, but you want more shallow
water for feeding and spawning, with
plenty of Aquatic plants for the fish to
feed on. Watercress is said to be good.
The black muck bottom, or even clay,
is better than gravel for carp. The
greatest difficulty in making ponds is to
get rid of water ofbranches and ravines
that are liable to overflow your pond in
times of heavy rains. They should be
ditched around the pond. There should
be place of discharge for surplus water
little lower than the top of the levee,
well protected from wash by boards or
stone. You need not be alarmed about
carp trying to get out. They are nom
migratory, and in time of rain and storm
or any disturbances Of the water, they
seek the bottom Of the pond. Make you
a carp pond, if it is but one rod wide
and three or four long, and you will be
surprised at the amount of fish you can
raise in it by feeding. If you have six
sheep on an acre of pasture they grow
well, but if you put fifty you will have
to feed or they will starve. A limited
number of carp will flourish in pond
without feed, but an overstock must be
fed. Throw in cabbage leaves, potato
pealings, cucumbers, watermelon rinds,
or anything that your pig will eat and
you will be astonished at what good
feeders they are and theirgrowth. They
like wheat bread better than anything
that have fed. Ifyou will feed at the
same place in the pond always,your fish
will soon learn to come there for their
feed. Throw in few pellets of bread
that will sink to the bottom and then
some that will float, and your fish will
soon learn to come to the surface. l |
have been unable to keep entirely clear
Of excitement when carp two feet long
rises to the surface to take his food and |
returns lashing the water with his tail, |
even though have witnessed it hun
dreds of times Wyandot Union.