THE PIKE. 93 



a gorge tackle or a semi-gorge snap. Snap fishing with float 

 tackle is a plan that is now very much in vogue amongst the 

 anglers who ply their craft on lakes, cuttings, backwaters, 

 and other quiet waters and rivers that are, comparatively 

 speaking, free from weeds. Floats themselves are made in 

 various shapes and sizes, round, long, egg-shaped, and one 

 that has been registered has the body made like a hollow 

 cylinder with different coloured tops fitting in like corks, so 

 that under various aspects of the weather and the lights and 

 shades that play about on the surface of the water and the 

 shadows from flags and bushes, the colour of the top could 

 be altered to suit the eyesight of the angler without having 

 to remove the whole float. Various sorts of material are 

 also used in the manufacture of pike floats, such as wood, 

 cork, celluloid, etc., etc., and some anglers who cannot aff'ord 

 to spend much over their sport use a plain bung from an 

 old barrel with considerable success. Personally I like an 

 egg-shaped one, with a hole lengthways through the centre, 

 into which a plug of wood can be fitted, so that when 

 the line is threaded through this hole the plug holds 

 it tight in its position at the proper depth. The 

 " Fishing Gazette " float is the most useful that can 

 be tried. This float has a slit or nick cut down 

 one side through to the centre plug hole, the object of the 

 slit being so that the float can be taken off the line and a 

 larger or smaller substituted, as the case demanded, without 

 having to undo the knots and take off the tackle. One 

 about t\vo and a half inches long down the longest part will 

 be the most useful general size that can be used, although 

 it will be necessary some odd times, I daresay, to have one 

 much larger, or even smaller, for special occasions. About 

 a couple of feet or so from the larger float, nearer the rod 

 point, there is another float, called a pUot. This is gene- 

 rally a much smaller one, and quite round in shape, one 

 about three-quarters of an inch in diameter being plenty 

 large enough. Tlie object of this small float or pilot is to 

 keep the line on the surface and prevent it from sinking 

 down and getting mixed up with the bait and tackle; in- 

 deed, some anglers that I know when fishing in shallow 

 water have two pilots a yard or so apait, in addition to the 

 float proper. 



