16 OBSERVATION* 



PIKE 



Spawn in March and April, are bold fish, 

 afford the angler good sport, and may be 

 fished for all the year, but the best months 

 are September and October. From March 

 to the end of May, they resort to back waters 

 that have immediate communication with 

 the River; from May to the beginning of 

 October, are to be found in sharp streams, 

 under theRanunculus aquaticus whichfloats 

 on the surface of the water, particularly 

 ^vhen in flower ; near flags, bulrushes, and 

 water docks ; as the season grows colder, and 

 the weeds rot, they retire into the deeps, and 

 arc to be found under clay banks, and bushes 

 that hang over the water, stumps and roots 

 of trees, piles of bridges, and decayed water- 

 works that have been made for the protec- 

 tion of land against floods. There are vari- 

 ous methods of taking pike, but I shall con- 

 fine myself to those of angling, deeming the 

 other below the angler's attention ; these are 

 by trowling, and the live and dead snap. 



