Fishing for Pike. 25 



keeping the bait in constant motion. Two or three casts 

 in a place will be sufficient, for if he is there he will seize 

 the bait within that time, if he intends doing so at all. 

 I would seldom or never give him line enough to let him 

 gorge the bait either in trolling or dipping, the tackle 

 being so well armed with hooks. 



If, while you are fly-fishing, you have reason to believe 

 that there is a Pike in your neighbourhood, set a ledger 

 for him, and you can then proceed with your own sport. 

 Take one of the small fish you may have caught, and with 

 it bait a large, long-shanked hook, tied on to a piece of 

 gimp, and attached to about twelve or fourteen yards of 

 whipcord. If the bait be alive, a hook with a shorter 

 shank will do. Pass this through the roots of the back 

 fin, so as to balance the fish properly ; keep it at mid- 

 water by means of a float, and under the water by suffi- 

 cient leading. If you use a dead bait, run the hook in 

 at the tail and out at the mouth, the bend of the hook 

 lying by the side of the gills, and dispense with a float. 

 Tie the line either to a branch or stake driven into the 

 ground ; and, in the case of a live bait, use a cleft stick, 

 fixed so as to prevent its taking all the line out, and coil 

 the remainder of the line on the ground near, so that 

 when it is pulled out of the cleft by the Pike he may 

 have this spare line to carry out. You can then leave 

 it for a short time. 



There are various other methods employed in angling 

 for Pike, but these are deemed sufficient, as the present 

 work is chiefly intended for Fly-fishers. 



The Pike bites best from the middle of summer to the 

 end of autumn, about three in the afternoon, in clear 

 water ruffled with a gentle gale ; but in winter all day 

 long : in spring early in the morning and late in the even- 

 ing. The best baits for him on dark days are small roach, 

 dace, bleak, smelts, and trout ; but on fine bright days, 



