TIME. BAITS. 73 



April, and will take a bait readily, there can be 

 no doubt, that they have not arrived at that state of 

 fatness and firmness which they get in summer, but 

 are ' flamp and thin,' as troller Nobbes confesses 

 them to be at that season of the year. 



The best time of the day for trolling for pike is 

 from four to six o'clock in the evening in summer, 

 and from two to three o'clock in winter. They may 

 however be readily taken at all times of the day 

 when the weather is propitious. I prefer gudgeons to 

 all other baits, as they are tougher, and therefore 

 are not readily jerked off the hooks. If properly put 

 on, they spin admirably, and are then very attrac- 

 tive. A bleak is the next good bait, but I generally 

 find that I take smaller pike with them than I do 

 with a gudgeon. A small perch, with the fins 

 cut off is not a bad bait, but the most killing one 

 I know of is a smelt, they however are not always 

 to be had. 



It is impossible to describe the best situations for 

 taking pike. In a well stocked pond or river, they 

 may be met with in every direction. A pike has 

 its own peculiar haunts, and he seldom quits 

 them, fearing to be preyed upon by some of his 

 own species. 



I have now little to add to my account of trolling 

 as I practice it. My readers will see how few 

 things are necessary to enable them to pursue the 

 sport. Onmia mea mecum porto. Half a dozen 



