THE BOOK OF THE PIKE 



two years — hook him. Always something happened — 

 not always because of a lack of skill on my part — and 

 the fish escaped. Then Fate decreed that I should 

 move from that locality, and my one great regret in 

 leaving was that "Big Arthur" still lorded it over the 

 lesser fry at the head of Clark's Lake. Some day I 

 am going back there and try conclusions with him 

 once more, for of course he still is waiting for me, 

 though a dozen and more years have sped since our 

 first friendly battle. 



When casting live bait — with perhaps the exception 

 of frogs — for large and "educated" great pike, I much 

 doubt the wisdom of noisy casting, such as is so at- 

 tractive with bass. Better far, if possible, allow the 

 bait to slip into the water without any commotion 

 whatsoever. Again and again I have fastened a min- 

 now in the weeds in such a manner that I could release 

 it with a gentle jerk, row my boat to a position 1 50 to 

 200 feet away, and wait half an hour for the water to 

 quiet down, then pull my bait over the known lurking 

 place of some ultra-wise great pike. Taking the 

 matter by and large, the user of live bait should at- 

 tempt to duplicate natural conditions. To my mind 

 there is more sport in circumventing some aged and 

 wise great pike, a fish that has defied anglers for 

 seasons without number, than in capturing many less 

 educated individuals. And the way to capture such 

 fish is with live bait used intelligently. 



In the matter of what bait to use, the angler will 

 study the feeding habits of the great pike in the par- 

 ticular water to be fished. It is a mistaken notion that 

 a man, simply because he is a good caster, can go to 

 an unfamiliar water and catch as many fish as the 



76 



