THE PIKE. 109 



eaglo ; 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 end of old locks, &c. Good 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 holds a few good fish ; 

 while a big lake often is a perfect pike paradise. 



These spawn about March, and deposit their eggs on the 

 weeds in shallow waters, such as ditches and back waters, and 

 after a short rest they scour themselves in the stream. After 

 this they take up their regular haunts for the season. While 

 they are performing the operation of spawning, such is their 

 lazy and absorbed manner that they may nearly be taken out 

 with the hand, and poachers profit by this, and either snai-e 

 the fish or else catch them by snatching, though they are at 

 this time very unwholesome as food, and ought not on any 

 account to be taken. A pike in good condition is a good fish 

 for the table, the flesh is white and firm, and of a deal better 

 flavour than chub or roach. Those from a river and running 

 water are a great deal better than those taken from a pond, 

 and a pike out of season and condition is about as filthy a 

 niess as can be tasted. 



Formerly, the pike was a scarce and expensive fish in 

 England. During the reign of Edward I. (about the close 

 of the thirteenth century), jack was so dear that few could 



