114 THE PIKE. 



yard or two of the spot where he had originally 

 seized the bait. 



" It was evident, as I knew from experience, that 

 he still held the bait crosswise betwixt his jaws, and 

 had not yet pouched or bolted it. To induce 

 him, however, to do so without delay, I very slightly, 

 as is my wont, tightened, or rather jerked the line 

 towards myself, in order to create the notion that 

 his prey was making resistance and might escape 

 from his grasp. A moment's halt indicated that he 

 had taken the bait ; and immediately afterwards, 

 all being disposed of at one gulp, out he rushed, 

 vigorous as any salmon, exhausting in one splendid 

 run nearly the whole contents of my reel, and 

 ending his exertions with a desperate somersault, 

 which revealed him to my view in all his size, 

 vigour, and ferocity : the jaws grimly expanded, 

 the fins erect, and the whole body in a state of 

 uncontrollable excitement." 



It is my own experience, however, that a large 

 pike will sometimes take the bait with such a 

 ferocious rush as well nigh tears the rod out of the 

 trailer's grasp : notably once on the Loddon, close 

 to some sedges where had been a bed of water- 

 lilies then cut down by winter frosts, a big fish 

 seized my gorge-bait, one of the few times I ever 

 fished that way, bolted it at once, and rushed fifty 

 yards with it. The pike just topped 19 Ibs. 



Fishing with the live-gorge bait does not require 

 much piscatorial skill. A double-hook bound on 

 to twelve inches of stained gimp, a leaded trace, 

 and a float are all the tackle required : a reel, line 

 and rod, similar to those used for snap-fishing will 

 be found quite saitable. The same objection 

 applies to this as to fishing with dead-gorge bait, 



