12 THE PIKE. 



large pike can be found anywhere, surely that is the place 

 to look for them. I once asked old Charlie Hudson, a 

 Trent professional fisherman, whO' had fished a celebrated 

 reach of that river for nigh on fifty years, if he or any of his 

 patrons had taken many pike over twenty pounds in weight 

 from those splendid waters. Four only was his answer; 

 and during the long period referred to, he had some hun- 

 dreds of patrons and customers ; the united weight of the 

 four was 87^ lbs., largest a trifle over 2 5 lbs., and the 

 strangest part about the capture of the latter, was that it was 

 taken with a worm, when bream fishing in that tremendously 

 deep hole on the Lower Trent known as Dunham Dubs. 

 Taking the Trent all round it is only occasionally that speci- 

 mens exceeding twenty pounds are taken. The Hampshire 

 Avon, perhaps, is as good as any other river in England for 

 large jack, some odd times we hear of one being taken that 

 scaled up to nearly thirty pounds. The angler can well be- 

 satisfied as things go nowadays, if he can get one from any 

 public waters that will go from twenty to twenty-five pounds, 

 and this, perhaps, will only be once in a lifetime, while if he- 

 gets a dozen fish during the whole of his angling career, that 

 would go from twelve to eighteen pounds apiece, why he 

 may consider himself fortunate, unless he has access to real 

 good private waters. 



I once heard a very old and observant angler naturalist 

 say, that he firmly believed two kinds of pike existed in' 

 British waters ; externally there was little or nothing to tell 

 the difference, except the size, one sort he believed would 

 reach 20 or 3olb., the other never exceeded four pounds,, 

 and in support of this he cited the case of two sheets of 

 water, some miles apart, exactly similar in their size, depth^. 

 and general characteristics, both had gravelly bottoms, both 

 were fringed with weeds, flags, and rushes ; both were fed 

 by small streams from the higher lands, each contained a 

 good supply of eels, tench, roach, bream, and perch; in 

 fact, the general surroundings of the two were as far as 

 could be ascertained, exactly similar. He had fished in both 

 of them for many years — in one he had taken pike up to 

 2olb. In the other he never saw, nor yet caught one that 

 exceeded 41b. There may be something in this ; but sev- 



