THE PIKE 



no doubt serves to conceal him, to a considerable 

 extent, from the small fish upon which he feeds. 

 Mr. John Bickerdyke notes the interesting fact 

 that the small teeth with which the roof of his 

 mouth literally bristles, are hinged to work one 

 way only, yielding to the passage of food in its 

 way down its capacious throat, but readily oppos- 

 ing exit therefrom. 



The sport of pike fishing is very much more 

 prized and indulged in on the other side of the 

 Atlantic than it is in America, where there are 

 such constant opportunities for angling for the fish 

 that are the most eagerly sought by rodsmen. 

 Yet the sport afforded by pike fishing in American 

 waters is by no means to be despised. Mr. Shields 

 deservedly gives the great northern pickerel an 

 honored place in his " American Game Fishes ;" 

 and though Mr. Robert B. Roosevelt declares that 

 it is " utterly worthless either for sport or the 

 table," he accords it a chapter among " The Game 

 Fish of the North." Mr. W. David Tomlin, in 

 his monograph of the fish, says : " He is a foe- 

 man worthy the steel of the most ardent angler. 

 Some anglers call the family * snakes.' I pity 

 them ! Go where pike can be found, fish for 

 them with legitimate tackle, and give them a fair 

 chance, and they will give just as much pleasure 

 43 



