THE PIKE 143 



could doubt that the latter pertained to a fish far 

 heavier, under normal conditions, than the owner 

 of the former, especially if he bore in mind the 

 fact that, other things being equal, the larger the 

 fish the smaller the head proportionately ; growth 

 of the head ceases or becomes almost imperceptible 

 before that of the fish as a whole. 



It was recorded in the Field that in May, 1905, 

 a Pike of 48 lbs. was gaffed in one of the inlets of 

 Lough Corrib, a nearly spent female fish, which it 

 was thought might have weighed not much less than 

 60 lbs. had it been captured before it had spawned ; 

 this estimate was probably nearly accurate, for 

 Buckland found that the ovaries of a ripe 32-lb. 

 Pike weighed 5 lbs. 



Some measurements of the head of this fish were 

 given, including the following : length of head, 

 measured from extremity of lower jaw to end of 

 operculum, 13 inches; interocular width, 2 J inches. 

 These figures are not directly comparable with those 

 given above, but after examining the heads of 

 several large Pike I conclude that the head of this 

 fish was almost as large as those of the Loch Ken 

 giants, the reputed 72 pounder and the emaciated 

 39 pounder. 



I have seen a 39-lb. Pike from Lough Derg, 48 

 inches in total length (to the end of the middle rays 

 of the caudal fin) and with the head about 1 1 inches 

 long (about i 2 inches if measured round the curve 

 of the head to the end of the lower jaw). Our 

 figure (PL XX, Fig. 2) is of a '' Jack " of about 

 3 lbs. 



Pike are found in lakes and rivers, sometimes 

 even in quite small ponds or in little streams if 



