90 Sporting Sketches in Pen and Pencil. 



was the pike, with his own gimp and float, and about four or five 

 yards of line hanging from his mouth. Alfred found the float in the 

 water near the bucks ; he got hold of it, and found the fish utterly- 

 done, and with little trouble got him ashore, rather wasted, poor beast ! 

 He was hooked in the gullet ; and even then he weighed 35^1b. Our 

 great taxidermist Cooper set him up gorgeously, and he is the pride 

 of J.'s ancestral halls. 



This fight about finished the day. It was then about half-past 

 four, and we didn't care to fish after. So we collected the spoil, we 

 re-kindled the fire, and sat round it for half an hour or so and punished 

 the '34, till the fly was due. 



The fish made a brave show. There was exactly a dozen of them: 

 a 5, two 6's, two 7's, two 8's, one 9, two lO's, one 11, and my 16^, 

 or over 1001b. weight. Besides this we had thrown back over a dozen 

 more of three or four pounders; and that, shan't be a bad day. 



NICE KETTLE Of FISH. 



