394 AMERICAN GAME FISHES. 



amount of pleasure equal to that obtained in angling for 

 the Pike. The savage seizing of a minnow bait; the rush, 

 for fifty or sixty feet; the strike, and the sharp struggle that 

 ensues, all engage an angler's attention, and give him a most 

 delightful occupation for the time. 



My own system of fishing for the Pickerel is similar to that 

 of Pike-fishing — laying out as long a line as possible, gather- 

 ing the line in the hand in the same manner, covering all of 

 one hundred feet with the line, and fishing up-stream. While 

 fishing in waters peculiarly the home of the Pickerel, I have 

 anchored a boat, cast out a line fifty or sixty feet, kept the 

 bait off the bottom, and moving all the time; and could have 

 filled the boat with fish if I had been so disposed. 



While fishing in a Minnesota Lake one summer evening, 

 at the mouth of a small but quick-running stream, I found a 

 school of Trout-Pickerel — common in this lake, and a hand- 

 some, clean fish. 



I was fishing for Wall-eyed-Pike at the time — a fish often 

 caught in this lake, weighing five to eight pounds — and used 

 a pair of Bass flies, the "Oriole" and "Black-and-Gold". 



At the first cast I made the fish came to the surface by the 

 half dozen. I saw they were "Banded and spotted," but 

 could not for the moment place them. I knew they were 

 not Wall-eyes, but could not for the moment determine what 

 they were. 



My second cast was made, and away went my fish. In a few 

 moments I saw that I had hooked a second fish, and they 

 began pulling two ways at once. Though not large fish, I 

 had all I could do to save my rod. Gradually bringing them 

 to the boat, I found one hooked safely and the fly outside of 

 its mouth; the other was hooked just above its tail — foul- 

 hooked, but I managed to save both. For an hour I had 

 all the fun I wanted, and could have caught fifty Pickerel 

 during the time, all with big Bass flies. I could not eat so 

 many; there was no one near to give them to; so we moved 



