vii FISHERMAN BILLY 121 



a second he will be round one of the rypecks 

 and free as water. In these circumstances 

 there is but one thing to do : I plunge the 

 point of the rod right down into the water 

 and hold him as hard as I possibly can. 

 Now he must either break or yield, and 

 fortunately he chooses, or cannot but choose, 

 to yield. He is brought back to the right 

 side, the net is under him in a instant, and 

 he is in the boat, as pretty a seven-pounder 

 as could be seen in a year's fishing. He 

 is short and thick, his olive sides touched 

 with a hint of yellow, a typical winter pike ; 

 he will eat, I give my word for it, as well 

 as any spring salmon. He has taken a 

 minute for each of his seven pounds to 

 land, which gives some idea of his fighting 

 qualities. It has been my experience that 

 pike of between seven and ten pounds often 

 give more sport than far heavier fish. They 

 play with more dash, as a rule. A big pike 

 seems to make the error, not unknown 

 among big nations, of underrating the 

 forces opposed to him ; but he has not the 

 advantage possessed by them of being able 

 to learn from his mistakes. Old Billy has 

 by now used his bottle with effect, and is 



