PIKE AND PIKE FISHING 329 



whisky, but the majority of anglers take plenty of bait 

 with them so they need not be used with a sparing hand. 



Large landing-nets and gaffs are employed to extract the 

 fish from the water, but the natives use only their fingers and 

 haul them out by the eyes. 



To give some idea of a day's pike fishing in Broadland we 

 will take another extract from our diary of bygone days 

 and recount the proceedings of an excusion we made to a 

 small private broad during the first Jubilee year. Although 

 it was by no means remarkable for the weight of the bag, 

 that particular day will in the memory long survive. 



A DAY'S PIKE FISHING 



It was a sharp, crisp morning, with an overcast sky and a 

 gentle breeze stirring the naked tree-tops, that saw us rattling 

 along at a good ten an hour over the . frost-bound road en 

 route for the fishing waters. Hubert, our companion on this 

 occasion, was in exuberant spirits ; he had never caught a 

 pike in his life and was as keen to get there as any schoolboy 

 bound home for the holidays. Gaily he chattered about baits, 

 tackle and rods, not giving anyone else a chance to get in a 

 word edgeways, much less to answer the hundred and one 

 questions he incessantly raised. Twice he insisted on stop- 

 ping whilst he dismounted from the cart to refreshen the bait 

 by a change of water from a convenient stream which flowed 

 under the roadway. 



After he had for about the tenth time inquired if we were 

 not nearly there, we turned down an avenue or short lane 

 (called loake in Broadland) and reached an old-fashioned 

 farmhouse. 



There was no keeper to the estate, but an old marshman, 

 who looked after the watermill, tended to our wants and 

 stabled the horse. He had been forewarned of our coming 

 and had accordingly laid a few liggers (planks) over the 

 dykes to facilitate foot passage to the broad; he had also 

 baled out the boats ready for use and occupation. 



