1 6 THE PIKE 



In a recent number of the Field,' for example, 

 there was a story of a lad who, fishing for perch in 

 Ireland with a light trout rod and float tackle, hooked 

 a pike, which in a very clever manner he killed, and 

 it was of the decent dimensions of 15 Ib. Had that 

 pike got away, as it might have been expected he 

 would have done, we should certainly have had another 

 legend of a 40- or 5o-pounder lost. 



Presuming then that there is some excuse for the 

 stories of monster pike, I will here assure the friendly 

 reader that it is not my intention to enter into the' 

 very vexed question of large pike. The speculation 

 is always profitless. The subject is treated of in every 

 angling book that treats of the fish, and periodically 

 we have controversies upon the matter in the weekly 

 press. The late Lord Inverurie exhibited keen in- 

 terest in the whole question, and tried very earnestly 

 to reduce the records of big pike to something like 

 order; the young nobleman took immense trouble 

 to collate such materials as he could get as solid 

 foundation for some worthy confession of faith. 

 They were necessarily incomplete, for it would be a 

 matter of impossibility without visiting every con- 

 siderable country house to speak with fulness. I 

 myself and my friend John Bickerdyke once strove 

 diligently to obtain facts, and our conclusion 



