DESCRIPTION OF THE AMERICAN PIKES 



a dirty greenish-gray, darker on the back, and paling 

 to a clear white on the belly. The sides, from head 

 to tail, are decorated with many irregular, oblong, 

 yellowish-white spots, each usually smaller than the 

 eye, and of a lighter shade than the ground color. 

 Ofttimes it seems as though the spots or blotches were 

 arranged in rows running from head to tail, though 

 this is not a constant feature, or rather is a case where 

 the eye of the observer is deceived. Lay a rule along 

 the side of a fresh-caught fish and discover for your- 

 self. The caudal, dorsal, and anal fins are also spotted 

 or splashed with dark spots, darker than the ground 

 color. The head is large for the size of the body, 

 sometimes being one-fourth as long, while the jaws 

 open wide and are armed with a truly formidable 

 array of strong teeth. Ill betides the angler who is 

 unfortunate enough to get his hand caught between 

 those cruel jaws. 



When we turn to the muskellunge of the Great 

 Lakes, a muskie which some anglers say does not 

 exist, we are confronted with a fish very similar in 

 appearance to the great pike just described. We 

 have the same general body-form, though often more 

 "pot-bellied," as was pointed out. Of course, here only 

 the upper half of the cheeks and gill-covers can show 

 scales, because it is a muskellunge. While in the 

 great pike the markings were of a lighter shade than 

 the ground color, in the muskellunge the markings 

 are darker, and in old fish may show q tendency to 

 coalesce. The general effect is that of a dark gray 

 body, with blackish oval spots superimposed. The 

 Chautauqua and Ohio fish is of a greenish-brassy 

 shade, the darker spots coalescing and forming broad 



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