THE BOOK OF THE PIKE 



they will remain alive for several hours, provided the 

 bucket is not too crowded. A dozen minnows should 

 be amply sufficient for a half-day's fishing. As a close 

 second I would place the ordinary chub and sucker, 

 giving perch, sunfish, and small bluegills third place. 

 By the way, few anglers realize what a splendid bait 

 sunfish or bream make. Again and again I have been 

 surprised to find members of the pike family taking 

 the little "gold dollars" with avidity, especially in 

 waters inhabited by them. Perhaps I should say here 

 that as a rule successful bait for any given water is 

 determined largely by the natural food found therein. 

 It is next to useless to fish with a "foreign" bait. 



A very good bait in some waters, especially for troll- 

 ing, which will be discussed further along, is the com- 

 mon green or meadow frog. I have found the brown 

 frog utterly unattractive times without number, and 

 must warn anglers against it. The meadow frog, so- 

 called, though perhaps some of my readers are ac- 

 quainted with it under the name of leopard frog, is a 

 splendid casting bait for any member of the pike 

 family, save for large muskellunge. Of course, as was 

 suggested in the foregoing paragraph, in water where 

 frogs are not found, where there are no environing 

 marshes and "froggy land," the gymnastic batrachian 

 is apt to prove a disappointment. For obvious reasons 

 great pike are not in the habit of feeding upon them. 

 That bait alone upon which the fish is accustomed 

 to feed is sure to prove attractive. Of course one may 

 take a great pike with a frog from waters uninhabited 

 by batrachians, but by and large, it is not the part of 

 wisdom to employ frogs where sunfish and shiners are 

 the every-day diet. That the great pike will upon 



78 



