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CHAPTER VI. 



PIKE FISHING. 



SPINNING, THE ROD AND LINE; ARTIFICIAL BAITS, 

 HOW TO USE THEM ; FISHING STORY ; LlVE 

 BAIT FISHING; FLY AND "FROG" FISHING. 



THE greedy, ferocious, and excessively gluttonous 

 nature of this, " the fell tyrant of the liquid 

 plain," has been pointed out by angling authors both 

 ancient and modern. We shall, therefore, confine our- 

 selves to the most approved methods now in use for 

 its capture. These may be enumerated thus, viz. : 

 Spinning, Live Bait, and Dead Gorge Fishing or 

 Trolling, and Fly Fishing. There is scarcely any 

 limit to the expedients adopted for killing pike ; 

 frogs, mice, worms, etc., in fact, baits of every con- 

 ceivable description meet with due appreciation when 

 these fish are on the run ; toads, it would appear, are 

 the only creatures they reject, but a dab of yellow 

 paint will make even these presentable. The spinning 

 art, when skilfully practised is, beyond all dispute, 

 the most successful system for extracting these fish ; 

 we say practised skilfully, not because skill is actually 

 requisite to success, but merely to point out the dif- 

 ference between the ancient and rude hand trolling, 



