270 



FISHING IN AMERICAN WATERS. 



SKITTERING* FOR PICKEREL AMONG THE LILY-PADS. 



"Now changed the tackle and the bait ; 

 For larger prey we're all elate ; 

 'Mong lily-pads none vainly tries ; 

 The line runs off a noble prize ! 

 Give time to poach now strike ! 



"Now seeks his haunt the wounded prey, 

 And then begins the angler's play ; 

 He lengthens out, now slackens line, 

 Till struggles past a welcome sign 

 He lands a glorious pike ! 



Chorus. The jolly angler's is the life, 



Devoid of care, devoid of strife. " 



Angling for pickerel among the lily-pads and pickerel-weed 

 is very exciting sport. The angler should use a rod from 13 

 to 15 feet long, flexible, but strong. For skittering a float 

 is not used, nor is natural bait the best. Use Buel's or 

 M'Harg's spoons, mounted with red ibis feather, and white 



* Skittering is a word which belongs to an angler's vocabulary, but not 

 found in a dictionary. It means drawing or jerking a bait along the top of 

 the water. 



