THE PIKE. 45 



remarkable and fearless voracity onrecord, we have always 

 found the pike a very dainty fish, and very difficult to 

 catch in those preserves and pet waters where small 

 silvery roach are very numerous. He can, in such situations, 

 procure a delicate and plentiful repast whenever he wants 

 one; for, greedy as he is, he does not, like the human 

 glutton, eat for mere eating's sake: the one eats to live, 

 the other lives but to eat; and, therefore, the fish may 

 be considered the more respectable gourmand of the two. 

 When his appetite is on, he is furious: when it is ap- 

 peased, he is scarcely to be tempted. Practised trollers 

 are well aware of this, and thoroughly understand the 

 difference between the " runs" when a pike is hungry 

 and in earnest, and when he is neither the one nor the 

 other. When not stimulated by hunger, he is any thing 

 but voracious, and will mouth a bait and play with it for 

 a quarter of an hour in sheer sport, without the slightest 

 intention of swallowing it. In this condition, he will often 

 allow himself to be hauled about and quietly pulled up to 

 the surface of the water, and then, with a careless flap of 

 his tail, he coolly drops the bait from his jaws, and lazily 

 rolls down again into deep water. 



The pike is generally believed to be a long-lived fish. 

 Numerous stories are recorded more or less authentic, 

 confirmatory of the prevailing opinion: and there can 

 be little doubt, perhaps, that he will live to a very great 

 age, if well fed and undisturbed. This fish, however, 

 has too many enemies to allow him to survive many 

 seasons, except in stews and private waters where he can 

 remain secure and unmolested. 



Many anecdotes are preserved respecting the size 

 which the pike is supposed to be capable of attaining. 

 Wales is said to contain numerous enormous fish in its 



