200 THE PIKE 



For some minutes the pike afforded excellent fun, 

 and I suspect wondered at the mysterious resis- 

 tance which my powerful little fly rod exercised 

 over its freedom. Up and down stream the pike 

 rushed with my trout across its jaws, showing every 

 sign of anger, but it did not attempt to pouch the 

 fish. At length I induced my friend to come closer 

 to the rushes, where I was crouching unseen. Its 

 eyes had a remorseless expression, and it showed 

 the greatest reluctance to yield up the prize. 

 Rather than relinquish its hold, to my utter astonish- 

 ment the pike allowed me to pass my net under it in 

 the water and scoop the pair into safety on the bank. 

 In the net, however, the pike realised the mistake, 

 and promptly dropped my trout which had brought 

 such trouble upon him. 



There are some rivers in England where the 

 trout do not rise freely, although natural flies are 

 abundant, and it is suggested that in certain cases 

 this may be due to the presence of pike in the water. 

 Dr. Edward Hamilton, in his 'Riverside Naturalist,' 

 relates an instance which came under his notice on the 

 river Itchen. He says that at one time there were 

 large numbers of pike there, and no trout would rise in 

 the daytime ; but as soon as they were destroyed, the 

 trout began to feed again as usual. The pike is one of 



