Chapter IV 



The Little Pickerels 



"The apostles, though they were fishers, too, were of the 

 solemn race of sea-fishers, and never trolled for pickerel on in- 

 land waters." — Henry David Thoreau. 



THE hermit of Walden was neither an angler nor 

 a fisherman, yet he sensed the attractivity of 

 pickerel fishing. Angling for pickerel is not the 

 serious business that fishing for Atlantic salmon is. 

 It is not the goal, but the journey thereto, that counts. 

 Never for a moment does the possible outcome of the 

 battle worry the pickerel angler. What if the fish 

 escape; are there not others as small? What if no fish 

 rise ; are not the trees, flowers, and birds ever present ? 

 Says the author just quoted (Thoreau): **I have 

 frequently seen a poet withdraw, having enjoyed the 

 most valuable part of a farm, while the crusty farmer 

 supposed that he had got a few wild apples only." 

 I leave the reader to construct a paraphrase for him- 

 self. Pickerel fishing is for the poet-angler. Unless 

 you can. creel something beside a few bony fish when 

 you angle, for pickerel, you had best omit this chapter. 

 In the preceding chapter I described the three 

 pickerels of the United States — the eastern pickerel 

 (Esox reticulatus) and the banded pickerel {Esox 

 Americanus) being found east and south, while the 

 little pickerel or grass pike (Esox vermiculatus) is found 

 north, and west. Bear in mind, any pickerel may be 



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