64 THE PIKE. 



which I have treated upon under the head " trouling,' ' 

 but your hooks must be much larger ; and mark, fix on 

 gimp instead of gut. When the fish bites you need not 

 strike with your rod, but give the line a smart jerk with 

 your left hand, which has hold of it, which does not en- 

 danger your rod. For the pike should be stronger than that 

 for the trout. The best kind of rods that I have seen for this 

 kind &f fishing were made by an old angler of the name 

 of George Grantham, residing in Manchester ; they ans- 

 wered for trouling, bottom, and fly-fishing, having the va- 

 rious tops in the hollow bottom. 



There is also another way to fish for the pike (both 

 trout and perch may be caught the same way;) I call it 

 middle fishing. You fix a single hook to the end of your 

 gimp, with two or three shots about a foot from the hook, 

 to keep the fish from coming to the top ; put on a large 

 cork float, sufficient to swim a gudgeon ; and when you 

 bait the hook put it through the top lip or through the 

 back fin. You may bait the same way with a minnow or 

 any other fish, which must be kept alive in a tin kettle with 

 holes in the lid to give them air. 



There is another way called " fishing with the gorge." 

 You may either use a single hook or two hooks tied back 

 to back, though they are better braized together. They 

 should be moderately large, with long shanks, and copper- 

 twisted wire or gimp whipt to the end of them ; the shanks 

 must be leaded. If you use twisted wire, which is the best 

 for large fish, it must have a joint about six inches from 

 the hook, (you may buy them ready fitted up at the tackle- 

 shops ;) to the end of which wire you must fix about a foot of 



