28 THE PIKE 



into trout preserves, and as pike are very numerous it 

 has been important for me to study their habits as much 

 as possible with a view to their destruction. I discovered 

 from observation that when ready to spawn the female 

 pike, often accompanied by two or three males, would 

 run into the weeds in shallow bays, or up ditches and 

 into bog holes. Here they may be seen and approached 

 if the sun be shining brightly ; on a cloudy day they are 

 too wild to let one near, though the gentle swirl on the 

 water will show from where they have moved. While 

 in the shallows I frequently shot them, and more than 

 once got three at a shot. The eggs are of a light yellow 

 colour, and do not, as I have been told, adhere to each 

 other, but they separate in the water like trout eggs. 

 The weed they seemed to choose for depositing the 

 eggs was almost invariably Ranunculus aquaticus. The 

 spawning season last year lasted from February to July. 

 In July I caught a female pike weighing 9 Ib. On opening 

 the fish I found a large quantity of ripe spawn and two 

 perch. Without the contents of the stomach and the 

 spawn the fish weighed only 4^ Ib. As regards the 

 hatching of the ova, this could not be done on grilles 

 unless they were specially made. The best way to 

 collect and hatch the spawn would be as follows : Cover 

 the bottom of a tank with sacking or old net, and on this 

 deposit bunches of Ranunculus aquaticus, with soil 

 clinging to the roots to make them sink. The water in the 

 tank should not be more than 2 ft. deep, and with a very 

 gentle stream through just a trickle. If a male and 

 female pike are placed in the tank and the water kept at 

 about 55 degrees to 60 degrees (this was the temperature 

 in the shallows where the pike were spawning) they will 

 deposit the ova among the weeds. The sacking can then 



