OF GREAT BRITAIN. 83 



" A league of grass washed by a slow broad stream 

 That, stirr'd with languid pulses of the oar, 

 Waves all its lazy lilies and creeps on. ..." 



Indeed, it may be said that the reed and the lily 

 are to the Pike what the hollybush is to the wood- 

 cock. In lochs and meres it commonly frequents 

 the most shoal and weedy parts, small inlets and 

 little bays, or the mouths of streams where minnows 

 or other fry congregate ; and in rivers, back- waters 

 and dam-heads, eddies between two streams, or in 

 fact any water that is weedy, of moderate depth, 

 and not too much acted upon .by the current. As a 

 general rule, Pike will be found during the summer 

 in or close upon the streams, and in winter, after 

 the first heavy flood, in the large eddies and deeps. 

 At the latter season the fish feed best about mid- 

 day, with a breeze and a warm sun ; and in the 

 summer months at morning and evening with a 

 cloudy sky and plenty of wind. A hot, sultry day 

 is always inimical to success in Pike-fishing ; as also 

 a muddy or flooded state of the water : a full 

 water, however, if not discoloured, is very favour- 

 able. 



When in high season, the general colour of the 

 Pike is green spotted with bright yellow, whilst 

 the gills are of a vivid red ; when out of season 

 the green changes to a greyer tint, and the yellow 

 spots become pale. It spawns about March or 

 April, according to the climate, forwardness of the 

 spring, and other local circumstances, the young 



