PICKEREL FISHING. 283 



be surpassed ; and paying due attention to the above, and giving heed 

 to his instructions, the young angler will hardly fail of sport in any of 

 the inland lakes or rivers of this country from Maine to Lake Supe- 

 rior and La Belle Riviere, as the French designate the Ohio, and from 

 the Atlantic coasts to the Arctic Circle. 



" I must here inform the novice in trolling, that little sport can be 

 expected without a tolerably clear water. 



" Nobbs, the father of the art of trolling, speaks of April and 

 May as the best months ; but, with due deference to so great an 

 authority, I should say September, October, and November, are the 

 best months, as the fish are then in prime season, and are worth 

 taking, whereas in April and May they have not recovered from 

 spawning, and although they may feed freely, they will be lank and 

 thin, and in bad condition. 



" Early in March the Pike are often taken full of spawn, but at 

 this season they will seldom gorge the bait, and are generally taken 

 by the snap. In the autumn, rivers and ponds begin to lose their 

 weeds, which, in spring and summer, are so troublesome to the troller, 

 and the fish then take to the deep holes, and their haunts are more 

 easily found. The troller cannot be too early or too late at his sport, 

 for during the middle of the day the fish seldom feed, unless it be 

 cloudy and the breeze fresh. 



" The best baits for Jack and Pike are Roach, Dace, Bleak, Gud- 

 geon, Minnow, small Chub, and Trout, or the Skegger or Brandling ; 

 when none of these can be procured, a small Perch, by cutting away 

 the back fin, may be used. Indeed, in the lakes of Derwentwater and 

 Bassenthwaite, and various places where other fish are scarce, and the 

 small Bass or Perch plentiful, it is the bait in general use. It is of 

 the utmost consequence that the baits should be perfectly fresh and 

 sweet ; although a Pike might run at a stale bait, he will rarely pouch 

 it, even at the snap : your baits cannot be too bright or fresh. 



" Many writers have recommended birds, mice, frogs, &c., as baits, 

 but where small fish can be procured, no other will be wanted : of all 

 the baits mentioned, I prefer a moderate-sized Gudgeon, more espe- 

 cially for the gorge-hook, as the sweetness of the fish makes the Pike 

 more eager to pouch it. 



