THE PIKE, JACK, OR LUCE. 161 



The live frog during early summer is a useful bait, but requires 

 careful usage. I have found it very productive in brilliant weather, 

 when the pike are lazy and somnolent. The angler should use a stiff 

 short rod, and tackle as fine as possible. 



The frog should be hooked as lightly as can be through the skin of 

 the back to occasion the least torture possible. For dead-frog fishing 

 use a gorge hook and pass the baiting needle in at the mouth, through 

 the frog, and out at the hind part ; tie the hind legs to the wire of 

 the gorge hook, and use it the same as ordinary gorge bait. The yellow 

 frogs are the best. 



I usually try to hide myself in the boughs of a willow or some such 

 overhanging tree, dropping the bait gently down to where the pike 

 probably lies. If a great chub should smack its mouth over the tooth- 

 some morsel, let not the tyro be surprised. This is a killing bait for 

 chub in early season, as before noted. The end of a calf's tail tied on a 

 double hook, and large green beads for eyes, is also a most admirable 

 bait for pike. Another excellent and most durable bait is as follows : 

 Get a small eel, cut off the head, leaving about lin. of neck attached ; 

 cut off 3Jin. of tail, dissect back the skin a little way at the head end, 

 and cut away a little of the flesh as far as dissected. By then drawing 

 over the dissected skin as it was, the head end forms a socket, into 

 which insert the tail, and fasten both with a few stitches through. Use 

 on a large spinning flight. The bait should be kept in spirits of wine 

 or dry salt, and as it cannot be torn will last a very long time. This 

 bait presents a most attractive appearance when spinning in the water, 

 and is very killing. 



Of the various trimmers and poaching snares I shall offer no descrip- 

 tion at this time. A chapter at the end of the volume describes the 

 "black arts" of fishing in full. Many of them are too well known, 

 unhappily, although poaching is on the decrease. The angler who may 

 have the elements only of fish capture in his mind is quite good enough 

 in the "craft " to catch pike, fairly fishing. Observation and tact are 

 alone sufficient to perfect him, and the fish on which he should aim con- 

 stantly to exercise these faculties should be Esox lucius the pike, the 

 tyrant of the watery kingdoms, the remorseless, resolute, voracious 

 creature, over whose cavernous jaws Nature has written, for the benefit 

 of the small fry, in language unmistakable to them, an epigraph as 

 forcible as that the author of the " Divinia Commedia " saw inscribed, 

 over the portals of hell. 



