THE PIKE. 99 



float under the impression, I presume, that it is something 

 edible ; and will even swallow one of their smaller brethren 

 or offspring perhaps. In fact, when hungry, the pike is per- 

 fectly ferocious, but when his appetite has been appeased, he 

 is scarcely to be tempted. Practised pike fishers are well 

 aware of this, and know the difference between the " runs '' 

 when he is hungry and when he is not. When not very hun- 

 gry, he will mouth a bait and play with it, without any inten- 

 tion of swallowing it, and will then allow himself to be hauled 

 about, and pulled up to the surface of the water, only, with a 

 flap of his tail, to drop the bait from his jaws, and roll again 

 over into the deep water. In spite of his voracity there are, 

 however, some fish he does not care about. A tench is not a 

 good bait, neither does he like a perch although some do fish 

 for him with small perch which have been denuded of their 

 back fins. Although also he will take a frog, he will have 

 nothing to do with a toad. Notwithstanding this, his vora- 

 city is great, for we read that, "shrouded from observation in 

 his solitary retreat, he follows with his eye the shoals of fish 

 that wander heedlessly along ; he marks the water-rat swim- 

 ming to his burrow — the ducklings paddling among the water 

 weeds — the dab-chick and the moof-hen leisurely swimming 

 on the surface, he selects his victim, and, like a tiger springing 

 from the jungle, he rushes forth, seldom indeed missing his 

 aim ; there is a sudden rush, circle after circle forms on the 

 surface of the water, and all is still again in an instant." 



The pike when in good condition is a handsomely marked 

 fish, his whole body is mottled with green, yellow, and white. 

 One great characteristic of the pike is his dorsal or back fin, 

 which is placed a deal further back thanin most fishes it is, 

 opposite the anal fin and is very near his tail. The body is 

 rather long and slender, rounded on the back, and the sides 

 are very much compressed. What a head and mouth he has ! 

 The very look of it is suggestive of ferocity, the head is de- 



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