108 BOTTOM FISHING IN THE NOTTINGHAM STYLE. 



out any intention of swallowing it, and will then allow him- 

 self 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. Notwith- 

 standing this, his voracity 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 swimming to his burrow the duck- 

 lings paddling among the water-weeds the dab-chick and 

 the moor-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 than in 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- 

 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 quacking 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, 1 believe, a big pike will sometimes drown an 



