THE PIKE. 219 



to a hole where a pike is, or is likely to lie, or to have a 

 haunt, and then wind your line on any forked stick, all your 

 line, except half a yard of it, or rather more, and split that 

 forked stick with such a nick or notch at one end of it as 

 may keep the line from any more of it ravelling from about 

 the stick than so much of it as you intend ; and choose 

 your forked stick to be of that bigness as may keep the 

 fish or frog from pulling the forked stick under the water 

 till the pike bites ; and then the pike having pulled the 

 line forth of the cleft or nick of that stick in which it was 

 gently fastened, he will have line enough to go to his hold 

 and pouch the bait ; and if you would have this ledger-bait 

 to keep at a fixed place, undisturbed by wind or other 

 accidents, which may drive it to the shore-side (for you are 

 to note, that it is likeliest to catch a pike in the midst of 

 the water), then hang a small plummet of lead, a stone, or 

 piece of tile, or a turf in a string, and cast it into the water 

 with the forked stick, to hang upon the ground, to be a kind 

 of anchor to keep the forked stick from moving out of your 

 intended place till the pike come. This I take to be a very 

 good way, to use so many ledger-baits as you intend to 

 make trial of. 



Or if you bait your hooks thus with live fish or frogs, and 

 in a windy day, fasten them thus to a bough or bundle of 

 straw, and by the help of that wind can get them to move 

 across a pond or mere, you are like to stand still on the 

 shore and see sport presently if there be any store of pikes ; 

 or these live baits may make sport, being tied about the 

 body or wings of a goose or duck, and she chased over a 

 pond ; and the like may be done with turning three or four 

 live baits thus fastened to bladders, or boughs, or bottles of 



