THE PIKE. 27 



with this subject, and it is very nearly the most important of 

 all. Many times I am asked the question as to whether a 

 very stiff top added to a light chub or barbel rod would not 

 make that rod for all practical purposes a good strong pike 

 rod? I am bound to answer all such with a very decided 

 " no." Strange as it may seem, it is nevertheless true that 

 the stronger and stiffer the top is in a light rod, the weaker 

 does that rod become. The old saying that " a chain is no 

 stronger than its weakest link" can be applied with even 

 more force to rods. They are no stronger than their weakest 

 points, and instead of a strong stiff top making the rod 

 stronger in itself, it is very often a source of weakness. More 

 strain would be thrown on the second joint, and eventually, 

 if the rod was kept at this heavy work, that joint, at any 

 rate, would be utterly ruined. I am strongly in favour of 

 having a pike rod made for that special purpose, and use it 

 for pike fishing alone. I am not very much in love with 

 combination rods, although they can be constructed with a 

 very fair amount of success, but they have to be specially 

 built. What I want just now to impress on the mind of the 

 would-be pike fisherman is this : if he has an old favourite 

 roach or chub rod, he must not be deluded into having an 

 extra strong and stiff top fitted to it, under the impression 

 that it is going to make a strong pike rod, or he will pro- 

 bably regret it when too late. 



A reel is a necessary article in a pike fisherman's outfit, 

 because he cannot very well fish for jack with a tight line 

 tied halfway down his rod, the same as some roach fisher- 

 men do, he must have a pretty fair length of line, and a reel 

 is necessary for one thing to hold it. Pike reels are made 

 at the present time in a variety of patterns, and at nearly 

 all prices; but I consider a good stout Nottingham wood 

 reel as good as anything that can be tried. It is not so ab- 

 solutely necessary to have an easy-going centre-pin reel for 

 this work, as it is in chub fishing down a stream. A centre- 

 pin is almost too lively for a jack reel. It ought, however, 

 to run fairly free, and as I always in spinning cast my bait 

 directly from the reel, and look upon this method as being 

 the very best to adopt, perhaps I may be excused if my par- 

 ticular fancy turns to these wooden reels. A four-and-a-half- 



