100 BOTTOM FISHING IN THE NOTTINGHAM STYLE. 



pressed, the jaws are large, oblong and flattened, and furnished 

 with a perfect phalanx of formidable teeth of various sizes ; 

 his eyes are on the top of his head, and have a very villainous 

 look with them. We can fancy the sensations of a shoal of 

 roach or dace, when his head and eyes are suddenly thrust 

 into view. I once saw a pike rush at and seize the leg of a 

 duck, and a great squalling and flapping of wings was the 

 result, and it is common to hear of pike drowning ducks, 

 geese, and even swans, when they have seized them. In the 

 case of the duck just mentioned, however, the pike was only 

 about a four-pounder, so after a struggle the duck got away. 

 In Ireland, I believe, a big pike will sometimes drown an 

 eagle ; the eagle, it appears, having pounced on the pike when 

 the latter has been basking near the surface, has embedded 

 its talons in the flesh of the fish so deeply as to prevent its 

 extricating them. A traveller corroborates this story by say- 

 ing that he had himself seen a big pike with an eagle fastened 

 to his back lying dead on a piece of ground which had been 

 overflowed, but from which the water had retreated. It will 

 be seen from this that the pike, voracious as it is, is sometimes 

 the prey of feathered enemies. 



The pike is a solitary fish, though big ones are often found 

 in pairs. After floods and frosts, however, they may some- 

 times be found collected together in numbers in favourable 

 eddies, or in a backwater, or at the tail of an island, reed 

 beds, or at the ends of old locks, &c. Grood ones are some- 

 times found in the rough water of a weir also, and they are 

 occasionally met with in a full stream. Generally, however, 

 they prefer the quiet parts of the river. A deep corner away 

 from the main stream, where a lot of reeds and rushes grow 

 by the side is a sure find ; a backwater or a cutting that has 

 an entrance from the river generally hold a few good fish ; 

 while a big lake often is a perfect pike paradise. 



These spawn about March, and deposit their eggs on the 



