48 THE PIKE 



direction across the river. It requires some practice before 

 a given point in any direction can be successfully, time after 

 time, struck. Some very good Nottingham pike fishermen 

 that I know always make what I call a left-handed cast ; the 

 rod is grasped with the left hand just above the reel, and 

 the right hand below it, checking the speed of the reel with 

 the end of a finger at the bottom edge. But with all due 

 respect I maintain that this is a very awkward throw, be- 

 cause ere you can wind up your reel to spin the bait home 

 both hands have to be shifted, the left lower down to have 

 command over the rod and the right to wind in the red 

 line ; and if the place spun over happens to be shallow and 

 weedy this extra fraction of time may make all the difference 

 between the bait being clear and the hooks catching hold of 

 the weeds just under the surface. Again, I always imagine 

 that the finger under the reel does not regulate the cast so 

 well as the finger over the top, and you are more liable to 

 get your fingers rapped by the revolving handles. It is more 

 than probable that you may sometimes stand facing the 

 river in a very awkward position, with a lot of boughs or 

 other obstructions immediately at your right hand, and no 

 possible chance of swinging the rod point in that direction. 

 Under these conditions no other cast except the left-handed 

 one is possible. But even here I should hold the rod and 

 check the reel exactly the same as for the right-handed cast, 

 the only difference being that the rod point would be swung 

 towards the left hand instead of towards the right. It is 

 much more difficult to make a clean and accurate cast from 

 the left shoulder than it is from the right. I have known 

 very good pike spinners who threw out the bait in a manner 

 peculiar to themselves. Not one angler in a dozen could, 

 if they tried for a month, imitate it. I don't condemn all 

 these styles, far from it. If a man can throw out his bait 

 iwell and accurately, and his style of throwing is to my eye 

 very peculiar, I should say nothing in condemnation because 

 that style differed widely from my own. One of the most 

 -curious throwers that I ever saw was a Nottinghamshire 

 angler of long and wide experience. He always used to put 

 the reel on his rod with the handles pointing to the left, 

 and wind in his line with the left hand. His style was 



