THE BOOK OF THE PIKE 



weed-beds, deep "holes," all should be thoroughly in- 

 vestigated and conscientiously fished out, slowly and 

 methodically. Never should the rodster be tempted 

 to hurry, for haste is always destructive of highest 

 art, and, believe me, properly casting live bait is an 

 art. Care must be exercised both at the beginning 

 and end of a cast, or the bait will be torn from the 

 hook. As the "back cast" is the danger point in fly 

 casting, so ofttimes it is in handling live bait. The 

 cast should not be begun too quickly and sharply. 

 Ginger should be injected after the bait is in motion. 



I have been writing of live-bait fishing for great pike 

 as though it were a sport to be indulged in only from 

 the vantage ground of a boat, though the truth of the 

 matter is, a wise and careful angler can cast success- 

 fully from the shore. My largest great pike was taken 

 from the shore, and on a green frog at that. Local 

 conditions must govern when, where, and how. I, nor 

 no man, can tell how, nor when, nor where on paper. 

 As the wise bass fan does not cast "any old place" for 

 his chosen game, so the great pike fisher must not 

 expect to win out "going it blind." Let him study the 

 water and the feeding habits of the great pike therein. 

 While, by and large, great pike agree in their general 

 habits, voraciousness, love of solitude, and deep, quiet 

 swims, still there are little differences in the habits of 

 fish dwelling even in contiguous water, the knowledge 

 of which marks the successful angler. 



It is wonderful what a cool and expert rodster can 

 make his captures do, what obstacles he can over- 

 come. Not so long ago I was casting on a mill pond 

 where numberless logs were floating, confined by a 



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