PIKE, PERCH, BREAM, AND ROACH 135 



art of angling is a theme which allows ample 

 latitude of opinion, and people's opinions do vary 

 on that subject very much ; but in one matter 

 all the old-fashioned pike-fishers of my acquaint- 

 ance agree : and that is, that if they knew 

 that a large fish of that kind lay in, or haunted 

 a certain place, they would try for him with a 

 large bait ; and this, indeed, is but reasonable, 

 for as a rule large fish do not care for small 

 fry. Pools and shallows in some river which 

 has clear water and a moderate flow suit the pike 

 best, for gudgeon and minnows also haunt the 

 shallows in shoals. In a stretch of water, which 

 is about half a mile long, I have seen a dozen 

 good fish close to the surface when the sun 

 was shining ; but it was useless to try for any 

 of them during the day, throughout the months 

 of July and August, as they were wont to 

 feed early in the morning and late in the 

 evening on the shallows, in about a foot of 

 water. One very handsome pike had, it seems, 

 before his haunts were discovered, been feeding 

 more like a trout than like a member of his 

 own family. For months he had fed at the 

 end of a shallow, which ran from a mill into a 

 hole just large enough for him to hide in, and 

 he never moved out of it ; indeed, he would 



