PIKE, PICKEREL, MUSKELLUNGE, PIKE-PERCH. 165 



Musky fishing is sure some sport, but it lacks the deli- 

 cacy and refinement of trout fishing. But for a thrilling 

 and savage fight no fresh water fish can equal the muskel- 

 lunge. The muskellunge is good food fish, and like all of the 

 pike family, it spawns in early spring. 



The wall-eyed pike or pike perch is also known by 

 many other names, and I fancy many of my readers would 

 not recognize the fish were it not for the illustration and the 

 description. It belongs to the perch family and by compar- 

 ing the picture, of this fish with that of the yellow perch it 

 will be noticed that the wall-eye is simply a long, slender 

 perch, in appearance, with less of a hump on the back and 

 the "finger marks" not so pronounced as on the yellow perch. 



The pike perch sometimes grows to a weight of ten 

 pounds or more, but its usual weight is two or three pounds. 

 It is a slender fish, having two dorsal fins, the forward one 

 having olive, brown and yellow markings, and the tail has 

 similar markings, with two sharp spines. The body color of 

 the fish is olive or brown with yellow markings, the under 

 parts salmon pink or yellowish. The eye is large and has a 

 peculiar opaque appearance. 



It is found throughout the Great Lakes region and 

 Canada, down into the east-central states, in parts of Penn- 

 sylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas, and perhaps elsewhere. 

 It is a good game and food fish. It inhabits only deep 

 water, and in lakes will sometimes be found at a depth of 

 twenty or thirty feet. It prefers cool water with a gravelly 

 or rock bottom. In streams it will be found at the foot of 

 rapids and below log jams and such places. 



The tackle for this fish is the same as for bait fishing for 

 black bass. The best bait is a minnow, but crawfish are also 

 used. It is said that they take an artificial fly wery well, on 

 cloudy days and in the evening, as they are mostly nocturnal 

 in feeding habits. The fishing is in fact so much like that 



