OF THE WHITE PERCH. 295 



a very fine gut bottom with a number 6 trout hook, and I saw 

 at once that skill and patience and not force, must win the day. 

 I accordingly gave out plenty of line, keeping it tight, however, 

 and very soon my antagonist rose to the surface, while I reeled 

 in again with my utmost celerity. He then leaped with extend- 

 ed jaws a full yard from the water and immediately plunged 

 again towards the bottom, where he dug along until he very 

 nearly carried out 40 yards of line, when luckily he turned 

 once more and came directly towards the boat. After a con- 

 test of about 25 minutes, sustained with great strength and per- 

 severance on the part of the fish, and the utmost skill I could 

 muster on my own part, and the most intense excitement on 

 both sides, I fairly overcame my scaly friend, and led him, 

 gasping at length and unresisting, with his broad green sides 

 gleaming in the sunset, to the side of my boat, placed my land- 

 ing net under him, and in an instant he was at my feet; he 

 proved to be one of the largest pike I had ever taken in that 

 water, and weighed 71-2 pounds." The same gentleman 

 fishes for Perch in the following manner. " My common 

 method of taking white Perch, is with a small minnow or 

 shiner, placed upon two Limerick hooks, tied about an inch 

 apart, on a bottom length of five or six feet of fine single gut, 

 furnished with a couple of swivels. The lower hook is about 

 No. 3, and the other No. 6, according to the arrangement of 

 hooks in the Angler's Guide. I row my boat out nearly to the 

 middle of the pond and then allow it to drift before the wind, 

 with my line run off the reel to just about such a length as that 

 the motion of the boat will keep the bait near the surface of the 

 water. The white Perch play about in schools, constantly 

 leaping above the water in a fine breezy day, and often in 

 seizing the bait, they will spring entirely from the surface, as a 

 trout does in taking a fly. In this way, with two rods, I have 

 frequently captured from 80 to 100 in a few hours." 



