THE PIKE. 125 



I might just mention that there has been a live-bait 

 tackle lately brought out and patented, called " The Derby 

 Live-Bait Harness/' which is an arrangement for fastening 

 a live bait secure, without having to stick any hooks in 

 him at all, and according to all accounts this is a great 

 improvement on previous attempts to make pike tackle after 

 this plan. 



Pike are not confined to fish or spinning baits, for I know 

 that sometimes they will take a worm. A friend once took 

 lour pike about four pounds each with a worm on fine roach 

 tackle out ot one hole in about an hour; he hooked the lot 

 in the corner of the mouth, or else perhaps they would have 

 cut the gut and escaped. I also have taken an odd one or 

 two with the worm, and I have lost some owing to the fish 

 severing the gut with their teeth. Artificial baits for pita 

 are- so numerous and various in design, that to give a de- 

 scription of them would require a very long chapter. The 

 old-fashioned spoon bait is still used a great deal, and kills 

 fish ; but improvements have been brought out these last few 

 years, that we now very seldom see the old spoon bait in the 

 hands of a scientific pike fisher. First and foremost among 

 the artificial pike-bait makers stands Mr. Gregory of 

 Birmingham ; his baits are splendid articles and beautifully 

 finished. I have tried the " Colorado," the " Clipper," the 

 tf Windsor Bee," and the " Fishing Gazette Spoon." These 

 are all grand baits, and spin well in dead water ; and where 

 there is a difficulty in procuring fish baits, they are very good 

 substitutes. I can most cordially recommend any of thch*e 

 baits to the angler. Another sweet little bait Mr. Gregory has 

 just brought out is called the " Wheeldon." It is a lot srualkr 

 than the others, and for small pike, or waters that contain 

 no fish heavier than four pounds, it will be found just the 

 thing ; it looks to me to be admirably suited for perch spin- 

 ning. If perch are inclined for running at your spinning 

 bait, one of these will be just the lure for them. There 

 are also "Phantoms," " Plano-convex baits," "Archimedean 

 minnows," and artificial fish in every shape, style, and size, 

 which, as I said before, would take a very long chapter to 

 describe ; but this is already drawn out to a greater length 



