THE PIKE. 379 



over two lengths of a two-feet rule, but he smelt so strong, 

 that even by holding the nose we could only just slip the 

 rule on him twice and then run for dear life! The stench 

 was too much to investigate any further. 



Fishing in this same river one evening, we had caught 

 some nice fish, when my boatmen said, "See that!" I looked, 

 saw the circles extending outward until the ripples touched 

 the boat; a new minnow was put on and fixed; the boat 

 stopped and I cast out up-stream, a few feet above the cen- 

 ter of the ripples. My minnow dropped splendidly; it scarcely 

 touched the water before Esox had it, and ran. The river 

 was full of roots and submerged logs. I had to strike or let 

 him go. I struck sharply. 



"Let the boat go, Charley!" The boat drifted, and by sheer 

 force I reversed m}' rod and hauled the fish into the chan- 

 nel; then began the fun! The moment I gave him a slack 

 line he plunged for the bottom, but I stopped him; then he 

 made a rush for the banks, across and across the river for 

 some minutes. I never handled a crazier, or so mad a fish; 

 my rod bent so that I dare not count on the fish ; he was 

 full of fight, and kept it up until I had him close to the boat. 

 Charley, my boatman, gave him a crack on the head across 

 the eyes, with the butt of a paddle. This stunned him. In 

 a second he was at my feet, and a knife into his spinal col- 

 umn back of his head — a splendid fish, weighing about 

 twelve pounds. 



Many anglers use a Salmon-gaff for handling Pike. They 

 are splendid things in a boat where only two men who know 

 how to use them are fishing. In the hands of many ordinary 

 men you lose more fish by mis-strikes than you can catch 

 with them. 



Esox lucius is diminishing in numbers, and especially in 

 size. Better fishing appliances, and the pushing in of rail- 

 roads into unfrequented lake countries, have opened up 

 regions to the angler little dreamed of twenty years ago. The 



