88 ANGLING 



the habits and practices of this fine fish must have 

 witnessed some remarkable proof of the accuracy of 

 the general opinion. The author of British Fish wnd 

 Fisheries says — 



' ' Shrouded from observation in his solitary retreat, he foUows 

 with his eye the motions of the shades of fish that wander 

 heedlessly along ; he marks the water - rat swimming to his 

 burrow — the ducklings paddling among the water-weeds — the 

 dab-chick, and the moor-hen leisurely swimming on the surface ; 

 he selects his victim, and, like the tiger springing from the 

 jungle, he rushes forth, seldom indeed missing his aim ; there 

 is a sudden rush, circle after circle forms on the surface of the 

 water, and all is still again in an instant. " 



A few years ago, in a preserve in Lincolnshire, a large 

 pike was seen to snap at a swallow, as it poised lightly 

 over the water in search of flies ; and a friend of ours 

 once took seven or eight right good fish out of a pool at 

 the tail of a lock, not far from the Earl of Winchelsea's 

 seat in that county, with a few pieces of uncooked 

 bacon. He went to the spot — a well-knovm resort for 

 pike in those days — unprovided with bait ; and, on his 

 arrival, owing to the extreme clearness of the water 

 and the coldness of the day, he was unable to procure 

 any with his cast-net. The lock-keeper urged him to 

 try a lump of his bacon. In despair of getting any 

 better bait, and unwilling to leave a favourite spot 

 without a trial, he adopted the suggestion, and in a 

 very short time despoiled the pool of its occupants, 

 consisting of seven or eight respectable fish. 



Hundreds of stories of a similar kind are commonly 

 related, and may be found in ordinary fishing-books j 

 but notwithstanding the numerous undoubted instances 

 of his remarkable and fearless voracity, we have always 

 found the pike a very dainty fish, and very difficult to 

 catch in those preserves and pet waters where small 

 silvery roach are very numerous. He can, in such 

 situations, procure a delicate and plentiful repast when- 

 ever he wants one ; for, greedy as he is, he does not, 

 like the human glutton, eat for mere eating's sake. 

 The one eats to live, the other lives but to eat ; and, 



