38 THE PIKE 



called fly weighed three-quarters of an ounce it re- 

 quired a specially stiff rod, and the casting, of course, 

 was necessarily underhanded. The angler was most 

 dexterous ; he could get out his thirty yards with ease, 

 and it was surprising to see how the pike, which ought 

 to have been frightened out of their wits by such a 

 monstrosity dragged willy nilly through the water, 

 sprang like bulldogs to the assault. In Ireland a 

 pike fly is made of the terminal whisk of a calf's tail 

 in representation of a water rat. 



It is in the autumn and the open weather of the 

 winter that the more common methods of pike 

 fishing in lakes are generally pursued. Should the 

 banks of a lake admit of fishing from shore, you 

 have a splendid recreation amidst the most delightful 

 surroundings. The sward of an old park allows even 

 the novice to fish on the easiest of terms ; he is not 

 vexed with frequent entanglements, and behind and 

 before it is a clear field and no favour. The boat, 

 however, is a primary necessity on the majority of 

 lakes, and he must be indeed hard to please who 

 does not find the longest day too short. The 

 waters of our English parks having been main- 

 tained as ornamental features of the estate, there 

 is always something to please the observant eye. 

 Sometimes there are mouldy ruins hidden under 



