66 THE PIKE. 



and retreated back again. I have seen this done more than 

 once. If you see the jack following the bait with his nose 

 nearly against it, as I have done lots of times, and you stop 

 spinning for a moment and let the bait sink a trifle, in six 

 cases out of ten Mr. Pike will dive after it in a hurry and 

 lay fiercely hold. But in all these proceedings you must 

 keep a cool head and a steady eye, and be ready to tighten 

 on him at any moment ; don't get flurried like a friend of 

 mine once did when throwing his first spinning bait. A 

 good jack came at the bait in deadly earnest, when it was 

 close to the surface, and within half a dozen yards of the 

 angler. This sudden onslaught so frightened our fisher- 

 man that he dropped the rod and sprang backwards in 

 alarm, thus losing his first run. I admit that it is a bit 

 staitling to a beginner, the sudden rush of a fair-sized pike, 

 when you are thinking of lifting the bait out for a fresh 

 cast, is enough to unnerve the inexperienced in such mat- 

 ters, but if he takes it deep down out of sight, the first ex- 

 perience is not so startling. 



If the place you spin over is choked with weeds, that is, 

 growing in a dense mass everywhere, with only a few spots 

 where there is six inches of clear water above those weeds, 

 and here and there a rather deeper opening, don't miss it. 

 Very often the best jack lie lurking among those weeds, but 

 keep the bait near the surface, above the weeds, and also 

 work it well in the clear runs between the beds. When you 

 first begin to fish a likely-looking stretch of water, it is not 

 the correct thing to throw your bait right out to the furthest 

 extent of your cast ; but just toss it into the nearest opening 

 at first, and gradually work further away in every direction, 

 until you cover the entire distance you can comfortably 

 reach ; searching the nearest water first should always be 

 strictly attended to. Any sort of water, provided it is fairly 

 clear, can be spun over. I once heard an old angler say 

 that spinning proper could only be done in weir pools and 

 streams, and down the faster currents of a running river; 

 but this is all nonsense. Ponds, lakes, railway cuttings, 

 meres, broads, or anywhere else, provided pike live in it, 

 can be successfully operated on if a clear opening can be 

 found. In casting it is a general thing to throw the bait 



