Spinning with the Minnow. 3 1 7 



boat on a loch, let the line be drawn about sixty 

 yards behind the boat, and row rapidly to secure 

 good spinning. Strike as in salmon-fishing, and 

 strike firrn]y. 



In playing any fish, it is advisable to maintain 

 a strong and even strain upon the line ; but it is 

 more imperative in pike-fishing than in any other ; 

 for owing to the hard bony palate of this fish, and 

 its vigorous way of shaking its head whenever it 

 feels anything suspicious in the bait, there is great 

 danger that the hooks will fail to hold should the 

 strain be relaxed. If there be weeds in its neigh- 

 bourhood, endeavour to steer the pike clear of 

 them ; but if " crooked fortune " thwart the enter- 

 prise, increase the strain on the line as the only 

 means of retaining control over the fish. The pike 

 is an obstinate creature, and shows great reluctance 

 to quit its prey after it has seized it. Sometimes 

 it is drawn almost out of the water without its 

 being hooked at all, simply by its teeth having 

 sunk deeply into the bait. If it make good its 

 escape after being hooked, the angler must not 

 give up all hope of tempting it anew. He should 

 throw again into the spot where he lost it, and he 

 may find that Jack is quite open to a second en- 

 gagement. The fish often seems as much annoyed 

 at losing the bait as the angler at losing the fish ; 

 for, nothing daunted by any scratch it may have 



