48 ANGLING FOE PIKE. 



pike-fisherman, wlio very kindly gave me tlie benefit of his 

 advice in getting the triangle shown in Fig. 23 into shape. 

 His tackle is very similar to that shown in Fig. 24. The only 

 difference is that in the original Jardine snap the dorsal 

 triangle was not adjustable, and in lieu of the reversed hook at 

 shoulder of the bait, a very small hook of fine wire, pointing the 

 same way as the others, was caught into the base of the pectoral 

 fin. The tackle in Fig. 24 is useful for baits of moderate size, 

 and is, I venture to think, an improvement on Mr. Jardine's old 

 pattern. It can be adjusted to almost any-sized bait; the 

 hook at the shoulder lies close to the bait, keeps its position 

 during the cast, and comes away very easily when the pike is 

 struck. 



For small baits, a tackle similar to the arrangement of hooks 

 shown in the illustration of the paternoster (Fig. 27) should be 

 used ; and if the bait is very small, there is nothing better than 

 a single hook, mounted on fine gimp, put through both lips of 

 the bait. With a single hook the angler should wait about a 

 quarter of a minute before striking, whereas, with the other 

 snap-tackles, he can strike immediately he feels sure the pike 

 has seized the bait. 



There is still another tackle which I have seen used with great 

 success on the Thames — the semi-gorge referred to above. 

 It is, as I have said, simply a solitary triangle, one hook 

 of which, used to stick in the back fin of the bait, is of 

 smaller size than the others. The pike, on seizing the 

 bait, is given about three minutes, and then struck, when 

 the hooks are generally found in the right place. Of course, 

 with only a triangle on the back of the bait, it is, as a 

 rule, of little use to strike until the pike has turned the bait 

 head downwards, and commenced to swallow it. I may remark, 

 in passing, that the proportion between the pike and the bait 

 has more to, do with the hooking of the former than most 

 anglers are aware of. If a large pike seizes a small bait, he 

 probably takes it into his mouth at the first onset, and the 

 hooks, wherever they may be, will almost certainly take hold ; 

 but if a small pike seizes a large bait, the odds are on his not 

 getting hooked. 



