286 OTHER FISH AND GAME 



fought fiercely, for their bodies were cut all along the sides and 

 bellies. . . . The pike is a sharp-eyed, shy fish ; you must reach 

 him 'a ways off'; you cannot expect to stand on a big rock, drop 

 down in the water beneath you, and get hooked to a great Northern 

 pike. ' He ain't nobody's fool, and don't you believe it !' Take a 

 trolling or spinning hook, baited with a piece of fat pork, cut it in 

 shape like a fish, have a boat pulled alongside the rushes I have 

 spoken of, let out twenty yards of line, and then have your oarsman 

 pull a long, slow stroke, and if the pike family are receiving visit- 

 ors, you will soon know it. Trolling with a long line and three 

 sets of hooks is a most barbarous way of fishing for the pike. I 

 care not if this family are the sharks of fresh water, they are enti- 

 tled to fair play. His Satanic Majesty is never as black as he is 

 painted, so the Esox lucius is cousin german to the Nobilior, vulgate 

 Mascalonge, and partakes of his noble nature. He is a foeman 

 worthy the steel of the most ardent angler. Some anglers call the 

 family 'snakes.' I pity them! Go where pike can be found, 

 fish for them with legitimate tackle, and give them a fair chance, 

 and they will give just as much pleasure as any royal Small- 

 mouth Bass that ever swam." 



Almost every boy who has the advantage of living 

 within easy distance of a pike pool knows something 

 of the art of taking him with spoons or live minnows. 

 But many fish are lost by failure to allow sufficient 

 time for them to gorge the bait, before the strike is 

 given, or by the use of unsuitable hooks. On account 

 of the long, wide jaw of this fish, and his habit of try- 

 ing to disgorge immediately, a straight hook will sel- 

 dom catch. The Limerick, with its sweeping twist at 

 the bend and its long shank to withstand the sharp 

 teeth, is the proper thing. The barb, too, must be ex- 

 traordinarily wide and deep-set, for the thin filaments 

 of the lip are soft as tissue-paper and tear out very 

 easily. Some eminently useful hints upon pike-fishing 

 were given in a recent number of the New York 



