TROLLING. 107 



himself from captivity. Humour him in this, manag- 

 ing all the time to increase your control over him, and 

 he will at last become sufficiently exhausted to permit 

 of being landed. To effect this, however, you must 

 not trust to your line. If you are provided with a 



landing-hook, which you always should be, a tele- 

 scope-handle one being the most convenient, strike 

 the hook through his lips or his lower jaw, and thus 

 draw him in. Some trollers prefer a large -sized 

 landing-net. Either net or hook answers the purpose, 

 when you have the skill to use it properly. If you 

 have neither landing- hook nor net, then you must lay 

 hold of the fish with both hands, just below the head 

 and shoulders, and, grasping him tightly, throw him a 

 few yards on to the grass. To disgorge your hook, 

 attend to the instructions already given in page 85. 



Let me now add a few additional suggestions to be 

 observed in trolling for pike : 



The most favourable places are the bends of rivers, 

 or parts out of the rapid current, and where there are 

 many weeds, flags, bulrushes, water-docks, &c. 



Keep as far from the water as you can; drop your 

 bait in at first near the shore-side, and gradually get 

 further out. 



See that your bait is kept spinning, by occasionally 

 and slightly shaking the rod, and drawing the bait 

 smartly against and across the stream; as, also, that in 

 drawing it up you use caution, inasmuch as it is then 

 that you are most likely to have it taken. 



Do not strike too soon after the fish has taken the 

 bait, or you will probably lose him ; whereas no mis- 



