112 DAYS AMONG THE PIKE AND PERCH 



is very uneasy, if we can judge by the bobbing of the float ; 

 and presently under that article goes, followed in a flash 

 by the small pilot. Winding in the yard or two of slack 

 line that had been unwound from the reel and laid on the 

 grass, in case we got a sudden run, a tightening of the 

 line is followed by a heavy plunge, and our first jack is 

 securely hooked. He fights well, and twice nearly reaches 

 the submerged weeds at the corner of the flag bed, but 

 his struggles are of no avail ; he puts his head above the 

 surface, and grins defiance ; then a few savage shakes, 

 and my long-shafted eighteen-inch net encloses him com- 

 pletely. My friend's steelyard proclaims the fact that 

 he reaches a good thirteen pounds ; his, or to be correct, 

 her markings are superb ; we run the tape over her, and 

 find thirty-three inches extreme length to be exact ; the 

 best fish by far of the day, and also in the best condition. 

 Another hour's trial in that corner fails to entice another, 

 so we gather up our traps and go to the weir, and follow 

 the stream down to the eddy just below the railway bridge. 

 That eddy we know is ten feet deep, and we fancy pike 

 are at home, as this spot would be a sheltered bay for the 

 fish when the flooded river of a few weeks before washed 

 them into it. We will shift the float to eight feet from the 

 bait for this place, and stick the snap hooks well into the 

 root of the fins, as this cast is a pretty long one ; because 

 I want my patron to drop his bait on the furthest edge 

 of that eddy and work it inch by inch all down and round. 

 The float travels down the eddy at least seven or eight 

 times, and there is no response, and we are wondering 

 why, when down they both go almost at the same time, 

 and a steady strain again fixes the hook. We never at- 

 tempt to strike hard and heavy with this tackle ; if the 

 weight of the pike when the line gets tight is not sufficient 

 to hook him, well, I give him a sporting chance and he is 

 welcome to go. This fish tumbles into the heavier water 

 below, and fights like a Trent salmon, more than once 

 leaps into the air, then bolts back into the very depths 



