8 



ANGLING FOR PIKE. 



as possible. Then sort them. Put those between 21b. and 

 31b. into division A, those between 31b. and 51b. into B, 

 and those above that size into 0, of course taking care that 

 the males and females are equal in numbers. If any coarse 

 fish — roach, dace, gudgeon, &c. — have been caught in the 

 nets, turn them into the ponds for the pike to feed on. In 

 a few weeks the pike should run up the ditches to spawn, 

 and then return to the pond. As soon as that happens, the 

 ponds should be netted, and the fish returned to the river. 



If the ditches are made and planted with weeds about 

 eight or ten months before they are required, there should be 

 abundance of food for the young pike when first hatched. 



Fig. 1. A Pike Breeding Pond. 



As they grow they will require minnows and other small fry, 

 which must be obtained for them; and I have no doubt that they 

 would eat chopped liver quite as readily as do young trout. The 

 pikelets might be left in the pond for at least ten months, 

 when they could be turned into lakes or rivers in very 

 shallow, weedy spots. It will be found most convenient to 

 construct the pond with an outlet at the deepest part, so 

 that the water can be easily drained off. That, briefly, is a 

 plan which I have long had in my head for pike-breeding. 

 It has never, so far as I know, been tried, but I sincerely 

 hope that the publicity now given to it will lead to some- 

 thing of the kind being done. For a man of means, living 

 in the country, pike-breeding would be a novel and inte- 



