THE PICKEREL. 



BY W. DAVID TOMLIN. 



WHEN sunny youth or lovely girlhood takes to fishing; 

 when woman, "spurred with a vaulting ambition," de- 

 sires even to eclipse her husband — when the soul that 

 looks out of the windows is growing dim ! when the grinders 

 cease because they are few; when the ambitions of earth wane, 

 and the days slip almost unconsciously by, and of the loves 

 of former years that remain — the love of boyhood; the 

 strong love of a strong manhood; the declining love of well- 

 spent life — the desire comes once again to go-a-fishing — 

 and the slippered feet are once again guided gently to a boat 

 and made comfortable, and — and to fishing the old sire goes. 



All the memories of boyhood's days return again, and the 

 cunning of his hand comes to him once more;, he recounts 

 incidents of many years fishing lore, but it is of Pickerel fish- 

 ing. 



To the boy just beginning his piscatorial career, the Pickerel 

 is the fish of all fish. The "Beauty that draws us with a 

 single hair," does not at first attempt to inveigle the wary 

 trout; but the Pickerel is fair game — and many a bout does 

 fair womanhood have with reticidatus before she attempts 

 to fling a line for either Bass or Trout. 



But what is a pickerel.^ 



"English as she's spoken," says Pickerel or Jack is a young 

 Pike. This idea was fostered by some transplanted Anglo- 



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