Chapter XIII 



The Fine Art of Pike Cooking 



"But if this direction to catch a Pike thus do you no good, 

 yet I am certain this direction how to roast him when he is 

 caught, is choicely good, for I have tried it. . . . This dish 

 of meat is too good for any but Anglers or very honest men; 

 and I trust you will prove both, and therefore have trusted you 

 with this secret." — Izaak Walton. 



IF Father Izaak was right, then I need not apol- 

 ogize for this chapter, e'en though I realize that I 

 have no business invading the sacred precincts of 

 the culinary artists. What I do not know about cook- 

 ing would fill more than a single chapter. Still, I can 

 make shift to cook a meal in the open and can prepare 

 pickerel, great pike, and 'lunge sufficiently well for 

 the sharp outdoor appetite. I want it distinctly under- 

 stood, however, that primarily this chapter is not 

 intended for cooks who possess the conveniences of a 

 kitchen. Housewives are requested to treat this dis- 

 sertation as the priest did the man who fell among 

 thieves. With this sad attempt at an apology, I plunge 

 into my subject. 



I honestly think that members of the pike family 

 have not received their just dues at the hands of out- 

 door cooks. Even the execrated and despised pickerel 

 — "river snake" — does not deserve the odium heaped 

 upon him. Not only is he edible, but when taken 

 from moderately cold water and properly cooked, I 

 hold him delicious. I realize full well that the fore- 



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