FLY-FISHING FOR GREAT PIKE 



and entertaining information we would have at our 

 command! The angling writer who cannot forget 

 himself now and then and "just yarn" of his own ex- 

 periences is, to my mind at least, hardly a good guide 

 to follow. Strikes me that the majority of the angling 

 writers of to-day take their job too seriously. We 

 have lost our Primes, our "Adirondack" Murrays, our 

 Fred Mathers, and their ilk, and, lo, in this strenuous 

 time there are none bold enough, unless it be van 

 Dyke, to take their place. 



In fly-fishing for great pike, the wise angler will 

 devote considerable time and thought to the selection 

 of a rod, for more will depend upon that part of the 

 outfit than upon all the rest of the paraphernalia. The 

 rod can be somewhat longer and stiffer than those used 

 for black bass, for more will be required of it. The 

 salmon rod, by and large, is a good tool. I should say, 

 then, for a general-purpose rod one weighing in the 

 neighborhood of twelve ounces should be selected, 

 though I have gone up against several doughty fish 

 with my favorite nine-ounce black bass fly-rod. My 

 reason for recommending the heavier tool is that 

 sometimes the great pike fisherman will connect with 

 a twenty- or thirty-pound fish, and then where would 

 he be with a three-ounce rod? I saw one weighing 

 twenty-nine pounds that was taken on a nine-ounce 

 rod. But it is not wise to subject so light a rod to 

 such a strain. The fly should be large and somewhat 

 heavy; therefore, a heavy rod can be used with ease. 

 A properly built twelve-ounce rod of either split-bam- 

 boo or solid wood will give the angler sufficient casting 

 power and action when it comes to playing the fish. 



I have said that the rod is the most important item 

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