LARGE LAKE PIKE. 45 



to that used for bass. Weak-fish are taken very 

 easily, and in great abundance in New York bay, 

 and the water adjacent. Also in the inlets of New 

 Jersey, and in those of Massachusetts. 



The Muskellunge, or Lake Pike. 



This inhabitant of the St. Lawrence, and the 

 Northern and Western lakes, grows from one to 

 three feet in length, according to the breadth of wa- 

 ter that he is found in. Built like a pike, he is of a 

 deep greenish brown color, dark back, and pale sides 

 spotted with greenish spots. In fishing for the 

 smaller sizes, your tackle should be similar to that 

 used for pickerel ; but for large ones you want a good 

 sized cod line, with a cod hook to match. He will 

 bite greedily at various baits a bit of fish, a slice of 

 pork, a bundle of worms, or chicken offal, a small 

 fish, or a frog, &c. It requires a good deal of care, 

 caution and physical exertion to land him. He is a 

 beautiful game fish, and is the best eating fish, next 

 to the salmon trout, that inhabits the lakes. 



The muskellunge (long-face of the French) is a 

 noble fish. He is an enormous pike, with the lower 

 projecting jaw armed with needle teeth clear into the 

 throat, ranging from five to forty pounds weight, 

 agile as lightning, and a perfect water tiger among 

 the smaller fishes. No more beautiful fish to look 

 upon than he, nor one so destructive to the finny 

 tribes, cleaves the water. The Niagara river abounds 

 in them or rather they are plentier in the Niagara 



