Chapter I 



By Way of Introduction 



DURING the years in which I have filled an 

 angling editor's chair no single topic has 

 elicited more questions than has the pike 

 family. To go through my correspondence files amply 

 proves the statement. In one month during a certain 

 summer no less than sixty-three letters appeared upon 

 my desk, their subjects ranging from the time-worn 

 question, "What is the difference between a pickerel 

 and a muskellunge?'* and "Which is the best time of 

 the year for muskel lunge fishing?" If I were to add 

 the questions regarding the relationship of the "wall- 

 eyed pike" (pike-perch) to the pike family, I would 

 almost double the number. Now I have answered the 

 same questions over and over again. Still the stream 

 does not diminish; rather, is gradually on the increase. 

 Consequently I am convinced that there is real need 

 for an American work upon the subject. 



It is my purpose to go into the matter as exhaustively 

 as possible, not only treating of the various members 

 of the family and the literature of the subject, but 

 also writing of tackle and the methods of employing 

 it; in fact, it is my purpose to prepare a work that 

 shall obviate once for all, the answering of multi- 

 tudinous queries. The reader will realize that it is no 

 small task I have assigned myself. However, the 

 greater the labor expended the greater the reward. 



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