208 THE PIKE 



this means weighed a little over 18 lb., and it is diffi- 

 cult to say whether the bare-legged operator or the 

 struggling fish was most alarmed, for while drawing 

 it to the bank the pike made a ferocious attack on 

 the man's legs, and succeeded in inflicting a nasty 

 wound. 



Pike may sometimes be caught by ' trimmering ' 

 the holes, and by shooting or spearing them on 

 the shallows. A favourable time to work with the 

 trimmer seems to be in autumn about dusk. On 

 one occasion I set six trimmers in some deep 

 water, where the pike had well nigh ousted the 

 trout. Three of the baits were taken almost 

 immediately, and I carried home two large and 

 one small fish. On the other hand, for several days 

 subsequently when pike were ' off the feed,' the 

 most seductive looking dace, as a bait, would not 

 tempt them. 



In the foregoing pages I have endeavoured to 

 point out some of the reasons why the pike is 

 considered a pest in strictly preserved trout waters. 

 There are anglers, I am fully aware, who regard 

 this fish in the light of a useful scavenger, whose 

 mission in life is to weed out the sickly and 

 degenerate fish. The experience of many careful 

 observers, however, goes to show that this opinion is 



