1912 AND FISHERIES COMMISSION. 105 



Like all pike, the masealonge is a voracious and cannibalistic fish, 

 and is possessed of a very large mouth armed with teeth of considerable 

 size which give the fish extraordinary power in holding its prey. In 

 habits it is a solitary fish, lying concealed among aquatic plants at the 

 sides of the channels or beneath shelving rocks in open waters, and 

 from its place of hiding will dart forth upon any living thing which is 

 unfortunate enough to come within its reach and small enough to 

 become its prey. At spawning, which occurs soon after the ice goes 

 out in the spring in the shallow waters about the reed beds, the fish 

 pairs, the female depositing a large number of eggs which hatch out in 

 from fifteen to thirty days according to the temperature of the water. 

 The masealonge has been known to attain a gigantic size, running up 

 to 80 or 100 lbs., but it is rare to-day to hear of specimens over 50 lbs. 

 being caught. Fish up to 40 lbs. are, however, still caught each year. 



As a fighter the longe is justly celebrated and the great weight some- 

 times attained by the fish renders the pursuit of it all the more exciting. 

 As a rule, the moment it is struck, it will break water and tear away in 

 a tremendous rush, subsequently during the struggle repeating these 

 manoeuvres time and again until it becomes exhausted. Fishing with a 

 stout trolling rod it is rarely that specimens of greater weight than 10 

 lbs. can be brought to the gaff in less than 20 minutes and as the size 

 of the fish increases so in proportion does the time required to land it, 

 until in the case of very large fish, to weary one out taxes the strength 

 and endurance of a strong and practised angler. So powerful are the 

 jaws of the longe and so wicked its disposition that even in the case of 

 the smaller fisli it is usually found advisable to stun it before taking 

 it into the boat, while in the case of larger fish, which are so strong that 

 they will frequently tow a boat considerable distances, it is as a rule 

 not attempted to take them into the boat, but a landing is effected at 

 some shallow or convenient spot and the fish brought in to shore. 



Tlie method of angling for masealonge is trolling from a boat with 

 a spoon or other artificial bait, but the very largest fish would appear to 

 be most readily lured with a live fish carefully attached to the hook so 

 that it will not drown, but swim in natural fashion after the boat as it 

 slowly moves along. Trolling is, of course, equally effective when either 

 the rod and line or the hand line are employed. The latter, however, 

 can hardly be considered a sporting method for so noble a game, and in 

 view of the fact that the distribution of the masealonge is comparatively 

 limited, that to those sportsmen who desire a prolonged and desperate 

 struggle it is above all fish to be found in Provincial waters the most 

 attractive, and that consequently not only many anglers of the Province 

 but also an equally great or greater number from abroad can be counted 

 on to spend some time yearly in its pursuit, it would seem that angling 

 for this fish might well be restricted to the rod and line. The masea- 

 longe grounds are as a rule so well defined that this would be by no 

 means difficult to arrange. Other sporting fishes are of course to be 



