THE BOOK OF THE PIKE 



and obviate much strong language. Every outfit 

 should contain a file or hook-hone, for the hard bones 

 of a great pike's mouth will quickly dull even the best 

 of hand-forged hooks. A disgorger is of little use with 

 a multi-hooked lure, but here is a simple contrivance 

 which every pike fisherman should carry: A steel spring 

 which can be inserted in the fish's mouth, holding the 

 jaws open while the hook is being removed. One cannot 

 be too careful of wounds from a pike's teeth, for they 

 are painful, hard to heal, and generally troublesome. 

 A little tube of iodine in the tackle-box with which to 

 paint a scratch at once is well worth while. So much 

 for outfit and additions thereto. 



I can say but little as to the method of casting, for 

 the wise great pike enthusiast employs the same 

 tactics that the bass fan finds successful. As has 

 already been pointed out, great pike are not as much 

 given to tree tops and rocky beds as are bass, though 

 the shadow of a log is not to be neglected as you work 

 your way along a lake shore. It is to weed beds and 

 grassy shores you will pay the most attention, for 

 those spots are beloved of the great pike. The cast 

 should be made directly to the edge of the bed. If 

 there are open spots back in the field and the weeds are 

 of such character that you can coax a fish through 

 them, then cast into the open places; but I warn you 

 that such ventures are to be made only in fear and 

 trembling, a sort of last resort, for disaster lurks close 

 upon the heels of such casts. Sometimes a great pike 

 will strike upon the instant, though ordinarily he will 

 wait for the lure to move away, sometimes following it 

 questioningly, suspiciously, a characteristic of the 

 whole family, from little pickerel to lordly muskellunge. 



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