CHAPTER V. 



PIKE. 



PIKE (Esox Indus). 



BRITISH waters hold only one 

 species of pike. Ichthyologists 

 have discovered five in America. 

 They range from the Mascalonge 

 (Lucius masquinongy), which grows 

 to a weight of 100 lb., down to the 

 Little Pickeral (L. reticulattis), that 

 does not exceed 12 in. in length. 

 I have caught the cousin of the 

 latter with the fly, when fishing 

 for black bass in a lake outlet in 

 New York State. It was streaked 

 with numerous dark lines inter- 

 spersed with lemon-coloured spots, 

 which gave it the reticulated ap- 

 pearance from which it derives 

 its name. Like our own pike, it 

 was attracted by the silver doctor 

 intended for bass, and played ex- 

 ceedingly hard, although not more 

 than 1 1 lb. in weight. E. incius, 

 which has no rival species, is a 

 familiar object in our British 

 and Irish rivers and lakes. His 

 long, flat head is eminently 

 adapted for cutting wedge-like 

 through the water, with a rapidity 

 that gives him an advantage over 

 his unwary prey. It takes up 

 little space as he lies in ambush. 

 A small patch conceals it on the 

 outer border of a bed of weeds, in 

 the thick of which the rest of his 

 body lies hidden. He attacks in 

 short, sharp dashes, swift as an 

 arrow. The eyes are set high up 

 in the head, so as to command a 

 view in front and above him. He 

 does not possess the power of see- 

 ing objects at such an acute angle 

 in the background as other coarse 

 fish. His shape does not lend 

 itself to rapid turning, and the 



visual powers are adapted accord- 

 ingly. The dorsal fin is placed so 

 far back that it lies opposite to 

 the anal, and both are small com- 

 pared with the size of the body. 

 The tail is forked and broad, and 

 so constructed as to aid in rapid 

 forward movements. The jaws 

 of the pike are possessed of enor- 

 mous strength, the lower pro- 

 jecting beyond the upper, and 

 suggestive of bulldog tenacity. 

 The cubic space of the mouth is 

 far in excess of any other British 

 fresh- water fish. It is a frame- 

 work of bone and cartilage, the 

 walls so thin as to be transparent. 

 The formidable rows of teeth 

 leaning inwards render hopeless 

 the chance of any victim escaping 

 that comes within their merciless 

 grasp. They fall backwards on a 

 hinge so as to favour easy access 

 to the throat, and set rigidly 

 against any attempt at egress. 



Armed with such weapons, the 

 pike must be handled with the 

 greatest care. Either alive or 

 dead, one is ill-advised to place the 

 fingers inside the jaws. A bite 

 might ensue that would not readily 

 be forgotten. The fish, after it is 

 supposed to be killed, keeps open- 

 ing and closing its mouth. This 

 is no doubt due to reflex action, 

 and any touch on the inside of the 

 mouth is likely to provoke it, and 

 woe be to the fingers on which 

 the jaws close ! The gills of the 

 fish also are very sharp, and 

 fringed with needle-points capable 

 of drawing blood. 



Pike vary in colour, according 

 to the season of the year and the 

 conditions of their habitat. In 



