46 THE PIKE 



fortune with the heavy weights to the end. We had 

 both of us now made up our minds that really 

 remunerative business was over, and I retired on my 

 profits, but advised my friend to try a spinning bait 

 and at least work his way home to shore. He was 

 fishing with the old-fashioned Storr spinning flight, 

 which consists of one extra large triangle placed by 

 passing the gimp with a baiting needle through the 

 vent and out of the mouth. It had only one offer, 

 but the fish had fastened well, and to make the story 

 short he had secured the prize of the day in the shape 

 of a remarkably handsome i8-lb. pike. His score for 

 the day (for we note-booked the fish as we took them) 

 was 5 lb., 7 lb., 15 lb., 6 lb., 5 lb., 4 lb., 3 lb., and 

 1 8 lb. eight fish weighing 63 lb. 



The next day was, according to the canons, a 

 much more favourable day for pike. There was no 

 sun, there was a faint wind from the south-east, and, 

 though it died away at times, there was quite sufficient 

 ripple to ruffle some portions of the lake. In truth I 

 should have called it a model day for winter pike 

 fishing favourable for the running of fish, and most 

 agreeable for the angler sitting in a boat. Two 

 unfavourable auguries, however, struck us at the 

 beginning. The keeper reported that the hundreds 

 of baits upon which he had been relying in the store 



