1007 



How widely sucli coiniJUtatiDns may differ, appears 

 from Ekstrom's observations. He found that Pike-fry 

 37 — 4!) nun. lonu'. kf|it in a sprina' witli muddy l)ottom, 

 onlv attained in ."> years the size of a eonunini Herring; 

 hut tiiat a. specimen 1.') em. long, kept in another spi'ing 

 with smaller fish to feed on, " attained in .') years a. 

 length of 4 dm. 'i'lie statenu'nts we i)ossess of the Pike's 

 duration of life — according to old acconnts o\-er 200 

 j-ears — whatever ma\- lie their luithenticity, only show 

 that this tish may prohahly live to a very great age. 



As a food-fish the Pike is of no small value. The 

 flesh is white, firm, wholesome, and comparatively free 

 from hones. I'resli Pike is hy no means had eating; 

 and the flesh has an advantage over that of many otiier 

 fishes: it may he kept for a long time, without de- 

 teriorating, in a salted or dried condition. The great 

 havoc wrought by the Pike among other species of fish 

 has given rise to jiroposals for its exterunnation, at 

 least in small ])ieees of water. But the only result of 

 such a ])roceduiv would be the increase in number of 

 the smaller species to so great an extent that the 

 supplv of food would at length fall short, the develop- i 

 ment of the fish be arrested, and a great proportion 

 of them die out. I 



Some stated peculiarities in the history of this 

 species n)ay lastly be adduced. The fishermen in ge- 

 neral believe that at certain seasons of the year tiie 

 Pike entirely abstains from food (fuf/cr icke svaJg as 

 the Swedish fishermen say), and at others is excessively 

 voracious. These seasons are said to be pei'iodical and 

 regular in occurrence, the observant fisherman l)eing 

 able to predict the time when the Pike is on its feed 

 {i tagei), as it is called. But these periods are said 

 not to occur at the same time year after j^ear, and 

 according to some observations they are determined by 

 the spawning-.season, for the period of voracity begins 

 in the same change of the moon (waxing or wane) as 

 the Pike finishes spawning. There is one exception, 

 however, the Pike being always on (Y.s /ee(^ throughout 

 the dog-days. This periodical voracity and moderation 

 is said to dei^end on the circumstance that, when the 

 Pike is ofi' its feed, the gums are so swollen that the 

 points of the teeth hardly project above the flesh, .some 

 tenderness of the gums being thus the curb of the 

 Pike's usual rajiacitv. Perhaps we have here some 

 observation of llie manner in which the Pike casts its 

 teeth, or we \\];)\ find a more probable explanation in 

 the fact that the fish requires some time to digest the 



Scan^innviaii FLihes. 



great (piantily of food which it devours during the pe- 

 I'iod of voracity, .\nother singularity is that the Pike 

 can disgorge its yvcx. a consequence of the structure 

 and .simplicity of the intestinal canal. 



Most of the fishing methods emplo\ed for the Pike 

 de])end for their success on its rapacity, it is this 

 (pialit\ too ihat entices the Pike to the spawning-places 

 of most other fishes, whei-e it finds prey in abundance, 

 and is always on the alert. The Pike is conse(|uently 

 taken on man\' occasions in the tackle set for other 

 spawning or scdiooling fishes. We may also assume 

 that the Pike is caught with almost all kinds of fishing 

 engines. We shall conhne our attention, however, to 

 those which are used in Sweden especially for Pike. 

 Among them w(> find; 



The fi/ssja (fig. 7, p. 33, above), in which Pike 

 are taken principally during the spawning-season, when 

 they ascend into inlets and channels, to low-lying, in- 

 undated meadows or marshland, and to grassy shores 

 ^^•here the water is shallow. 



Nets (ordinary gill-nets. Pike-nets, with a mesh 

 of more than 25 mm.) may be employed all the year 

 round, so long as there is open water, but are al- 

 w-ays unproductive tackle. When used for Pike, they 

 are set in shallow^, grassy inlets, and sometimes to 

 close broader pieces of water and thus guide the Pike 

 into ri/ssjor or similar traps. 



The tramwel-net (fig. 183, p. 741, above) is plied 

 only in summer, and always with success off shores 

 fringed with reeds and rushes, where the Pike usually 

 takes its station on bright and warm summer days. 



The lon<i-line {backa, (/udd-ref) is used from the 

 end of Jlay, when the Pike has finished spawning, till 

 late in autumn. The warmest part of the summer is, 

 however, an unfavourable season, partly because the 

 high temperature of the water soon kills the bait, which 

 should always be alive in this method of fishing (fig. 

 25()), partly because the Pike then has an abundance 

 of small fish to feed oti. In early summer the lines 

 should be set on grassy shores and round shallows 

 and islets, some yards outside the edge of the reeds, 

 but from September and during the rest of autumn 

 in deep inlets, with stony or sandy shores thinly fringed 

 with reeds. 



Tlie (ii/iielkrol: (really triangle-hook, originally in 

 the fVn-m of a triangle with one side o])en, fig. 2.37). 

 The w inter is the only season. The fisherman chooses 

 his pitch in bays or creeks of no great depth, with 



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