CLEAR WATERS 



benefit, hired a boat with man and tackle from the 

 hotel, and we, he and I, went a-fishing. There were 

 two rods, one for small fry, perch and suchlike, the 

 other for pike with live bait and tackle. My friend 

 not being an angler took charge of the former. I, as 

 an angling maniac and on the strength of my recent 

 Shropshire performance, took charge of the pike-rod. 

 In due course I had a run, and when the time for 

 striking came I thought I had hold of the bottom of 

 the lake. But it wasn't ; it was an enormous pike, 

 and in about a quarter of an hour, with the help of the 

 boatman, we had it on board, and it weighed eighteen 

 pounds. Curiously enough it was the largest that 

 had been killed in that public water for many years. 

 If it had been January instead of August it would have 

 been much heavier. My kind friend had it mounted 

 for me by old Pulman of Totnes, and I have it still. 

 The veteran taxidermist and fly-tier was so tickled at 

 the notion of so juvenile an angler being responsible 

 for so large a fish that throughout the next year or 

 two when he forwarded my shilling or half-crown's 

 worth of flies he used to insert after my name on the 

 envelope ' The Great Pike Catcher ! ' It was the 

 last pike of my life. I rested on my laurels. As a 

 matter of fact it was a branch of the sport that never 

 came much in my way nor made any particular appeal 

 to me. That was in truth a memorable year to me. 

 For it had so happened that the very month before 

 I had by a very similar accident achieved an even 

 greater triumph, which must assuredly be recounted 

 as this is a chapter of childish things. 



By the summer of this my second season on Exmoor 

 24 



