AN EXTRAORDINARY CAPTIVE. 13$ 



his punt, the chances are they will be stale or have 

 been used before. If you angle for them they are 

 sure not to bite, and thus you lose much valuable 

 time, which would be better expended in trying to 

 catch the pike ; therefore, always take a good 

 supply of baits with you. 



I record an extraordinary capture made by Mr. 

 J. Bedford, of Regent Street, on the ist of July, 

 1883, at Marlow Weir-pool, which had been baited 

 for barbel. He was legering with ordinary gut 

 tackle, using lob-worms for bait, wheji he had a 

 bite, quiet as a roach would give. On striking, a 

 long greedy pull was the response, and Mr. Bedford 

 knew he was into a large pike. Forty or fifty yards 

 of line were immediately run off his reel with a rush 

 that fairly startled him ; this occurred several times, 

 but the fish being hooked just outside the lower jaw, 

 the gut was not bitten in two. Each time he tried 

 to lift the fish, it sailed round the pool to return and 

 rest in the same spot where it first took the worm. 

 It was forty minutes before he got a glimpse of 

 the pike's dimensions, and saw his landing-net was 

 not nearly large enough to hold it. He hailed 

 H. Rockell, who brought a larger one, in which the 

 pike, after an hour's play, was landed. It measured 

 45 in., and weighed just over 24 Ib. 



"JARDINE" SPIRAL LEGER-LEAD, REGISTERED. 



Leger-leads are made in various shapes and 

 weights. The spiral-leads are possibly the most 

 useful and convenient, because by uncoiling the 



