THE PIKE. 53 



the hook being put in at the head and out at the neck of the first, 

 and quite through the other from head to tail. Two brandlings, or 

 small red worms may be fished with in the same manner. 



There are other modes of fishing for trout besides these first 

 mentioned, varied by the kinds of bait employed. The salmon-roe 

 is one of these. It is a singular article for the seductive and 

 deadly influence it exercises over the fish. We have witnessed 

 some 'striking examples of its killing properties. We once saw two 

 countrymen on the river Tweed, kill as many trout with this 

 preparation in a few hours, as filled a good-sized sack. We have 

 occasionally used it ourselves, both in spring and autumn, but we 

 must confess we do not approve of its use. ^ There is something 

 low, revolting, and unsportsmanlike, about it. It is really not 

 angling, in any honest or proper sense of the word. 



The roe is used in two different states ; the one preserved as a 

 paste ; and the other, the plain roe taken out of the fish, with a 

 little salt sprinkled over it, and kept for a few days. We prefer 

 the latter preparation ; but this is only to be obtained in the latter 

 portion of the fishing season ; that is in August, September, and 

 October. In fishing with roe, some tact is requisite, The bait 

 should be about twice the size of an ordinary horse-bean; and 

 when put upon the hook, should be fastened with a single fibre or 

 two of common sheep's wool. When the fish bites, he must be 

 struck sharply immediately. The best localities are the foot- 

 waters of good streams; and when the colour of the water is 

 whitish, after rain, and subsiding a little, the trout can be most 

 readily caught. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE PIKE. 



PIKE fishing has become of late years, a very fashionable and 

 general branch of angling : not so much for the edible qualities of 

 the fish, as for the sport which attends his capture, particularly in 

 some of our larger rivers and lakes, where the fish attains to a 

 considerable size. 



All the writers on the natural history of the pike, tell many 

 wonderful stories about him. It does not appear that he was 

 known to the Greeks and Romans at least Aristotle and Pliny do 

 not speak of him. The first author who formally treats of the 

 pike, is Ausonius, who flourished about the middle of the fourth 

 century, and who does not appear to have entertained very 



