CASTING FOR GREAT PIKE 



In retrieving the lure, do so by "fits and starts," a 

 method which seems to tickle the imagination of the 

 fish or stirs his anger. Often when so deviled, he will at- 

 tack the lure or over-run it, in any event hook himself. 



I have already warned the reader that a heavy fish 

 is to be played from the reel rather than with the rod, 

 though the rod ably seconds the efforts of the reel. 

 The backbone of a five-ounce split-bamboo is not stiff 

 enough to do battle with a twenty-pound great pike. 

 It should keep a sufficient tension upon the line to 

 prevent the fish from throwing out the hook, a not very 

 difficult feat, once the fish secures a little slack. Do 

 not be afraid to give the capture line; let him run; 

 that is what you have a reel for. The more he moves, 

 the quicker he will become exhausted. Play him. If 

 he is lazy and refuses to move, make him. More than 

 once I have tired a big great pike by paddling about 

 while the hooked fish was simply towed behind. Al- 

 ways be sure your fish is thoroughly exhausted before 

 you attempt to use the gaff, and remember, the shoot- 

 ing should come before the gaff. It is surprising how 

 much vitality a great pike has stored up in his body. 

 He is never captured until in the boat or upon the 

 shore. 



While lure-casting is best from a boat, I have had 

 unalloyed pleasure in casting from the shore. Shore 

 casting is to be resorted to only as a last choice; that 

 is, unless you are one of the seldom anglers who can 

 brook disappointment and broken tackle. There are 

 so many odds in the fish's favor — logs, trees, rooty 

 stumps, rocks, and, last but not least, treacherous 

 currents. To tire a big fish, reel him to your feet, then 

 have the current pick him up and sweep him away, is 



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