PEECEPTS. 15 



pike-fishing days. First, when the pike are madly on the feed, 

 and prowl about for food, when they are sometimes caught in 

 very unlikely places; second, when they are only moderately 

 hungry, and do not take a bait unless it is brought close to 

 their lair in the weeds ; and third, when they refuse to look at 

 a bait, even if put before their noses. It has been stated that 

 a pike in the third stage may be caught if the bait is dropped 

 behind him, on his tail — that, in anger, he turns and seizes it. 

 I have never tried the experiment. 



Wind is very desirable in pike-fishing, especially when the 

 water is low and bright. A good blustering October gale some- 

 times seems to rouse up the pike and set them feeding; but 

 the great advantage of wind is that it rufiles the surface of the 

 water, and thus partially hides the angler and his tackle from 

 the keen eyes of the fish. In summer, if the wind is blowing 

 across a river or lake, the angler should, and will usually, have 

 the best sport on the side most affected by the wind. On a 

 blazing hot summer's day, when not a leaf is stirring, good 

 fishing must not be expected, though it will sometimes be 

 obtained. In hot weather the angler cannot commence pike- 

 fishing too soon after sunrise. 



A hard frost is, in my opinion, favourable to jack-fishing in 

 rivers, many of the best days I have had being when the 

 banks of the river were lined with ice, and every few minutes 

 the line froze to the rings. Fishing under such circum- 

 stances is not so unpleasant as might be imagined, provided 

 there is no cold, searching wind, and the pike are hungry. 

 Of course, one can hardly dress too warmly in such weather. 

 In lakes and ponds pike do not, as a general rule (to which 

 there are many exceptions), feed well during hard frosts ; but 

 a rise of the thermometer for a couple of hours in the middle 

 of the day will often set them raging after food. 



It is next to impossible to lay down more definite rules than 

 the foregoing as to the best weather for pike-fishing. The fish 

 are most uncertain in their feeding. On days which appear 

 everything a fisherman could desire, none are caught, while good 

 sport is sometimes had when it is least expected. However, 

 I think I may commit myself to the following statements : In 



