lOO THE PIKE. 



always allowing this distance, that is, eighteen inches be- 

 tween the bottom of the river and the bait, no matter how 

 deep the place is, because I believe in streamy eddies like 

 those, the jack lay as near the bottom as possible. Some- 

 times the place may be very deep, say sixteen or eighteen 

 feet, and you cannot manage very well with a fixed float, 

 for this you must fish the float as a slider, a good deal after 

 the plan I described in fishing a deep hole for barbel in 

 Vol. I ; the small pilot can be dispensed with, and instead 

 of having the larger float with the slit down the side, a 

 plain one of the same shape will be best. Remove the 

 plug altogether, so that the float will slip up and down 

 the line easily, and knot into the line at the right depth a 

 bit of indiarubber or something similar, of such a size and 

 shape that it will easily run through the rings on the rod 

 without jerking or catching, and yet will not go through the 

 small hole down the centre of the float. In fishing holes 

 of considerable depth this float drops down the line and 

 is out of the way of the rod point when the bait is with- 

 drawn ; but when lead and bait sink in the water the float 

 rises until stopped by the obstruction knotted into the 

 line. Some anglers may say that places like those could be 

 much better fished with the paternoster or the ledger tackle, 

 but I would point out that the character of the streams 

 down some of these running rivers, between the bank and 

 the eddies, would be all against ledgering or paternostering ; 

 the strong current might drown the line and sweep the 

 bait anywhere but where it was wanted, and a float on the 

 surface, be the only plan of keeping the bait in the required 

 position. Another question that anglers don't seem to be 

 agreed on, is the time that should be allowed between the 

 jack taking the bait and the striking, when snap fishing; 

 this in a great measure depends on the nature of the water 

 operated on, in stream fishing the pike generally takes a 

 bait very quickly, and can be struck almost immediately. 

 In lake or still water fishing the pike seem to me to be 

 much more deliberate in their actions, and should be 

 allowed a few seconds, say five or six, after the float dis- 

 appears. In the stream fishing that we have just now 

 been discussing, and the bait is of a fair size and lively, the 



