196 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
under these circumstances, in most waters, is the 
live bait ; but even this method—in which the pleasure 
of the fisherman is so much sacrificed to that of the 
fish—will often fail. The presence of melted snow in 
the water, however small the proportion may be, will 
almost invariably prove fatal to Pike fishing, as to every | 
other description of fishing without exception. 
Probably a good breeze from whatever quarter it may 
blow is favourable for Jack fishing, and particularly for 
spinning; whilst with regard to Water the only rules 
which can be considered to have any general significance 
are that a full fresh stream, the rising that precedes a 
flood, and the clearing that follows it, usually give heavier 
baskets than a water that is low or bright. 
As regards the Where of spinning :—The haunts 
of Pike vary considerably at different times of the 
year, and also vary with the nature of particular wa- 
ters; but it usually prefers a still, unfrequented spot 
plentifully supplied with weeds and flags, selecting if 
possible a gravelly or sandy bottom. The neighbour- 
hoods of reeds, docks, bulrushes, and the broad-leaved 
water-lily are its favourite resorts ; and of these a floor- 
ing of lilies, with from four to six feet of quiet current 
over it, and a wall of reeds at the side, springing from 
the bottom, is the best— 
«* A league of goss washed by a slow broad stream 
That, stirr’d with languid pulses of the oar, 
Waves all its lazy lilies and creeps on * 
