THE PIKE 97 



different colours on the different sides, with the line so 

 iixed that when the pike takes the bait the trimmer 

 may roll over, and betray the run by the altered colour. 

 This is said to be occasionally amusing; for our own 

 part, we consider it but a very childish affair. 



The pike is angled for with a large float and a live 

 bait, the hook being thrust under the back lin, or 

 through the nose of a strong gudgeon or roach. A 

 strong gimp hook must be used ; a small bullet to keep 

 down the bait; a stiff rod, and a pretty strong line. 

 The bait should swim about mid-water if shallow, and 

 not more than three or four feet under any circum- 

 stances. In weedy waters this mode of fishing is worse 

 than useless. The float will not allow the line to run 

 freely through the weeds when the fish. bolts off to 

 gorge, and the chances are, that in nine cases out of ten 

 you will not only lose your fish, but injure him also, and 

 damage your tackle as well. Even at the best, and 

 under the most favourable circumstances, it is but a 

 bungling piece of business, fit only for schoolboys and 

 small amateur anglers. 



Huxing is done by fastening a live bait to a large 

 distended ox bladder, and throwing them into the water 

 as a sort of floating trimmer. When the pike has 

 swallowed the bait, it is capital fun to watch the bladder 

 bobbing up and down, in spite of the exertions of the 

 very largest fish to keep it down, and there ends the 

 sport, such as it is. This is not angling, and no true 

 sportsman would think of catching pike in this way, 

 unless his dinner actually depended upon the capture. 



Pike are captured by trolling, spinning, or roving, 

 and all three of these methods test the skill and experi- 

 ence of the angler to a degree little less than the 

 exciting and more prized fly-fishing. Both trolling 

 and spinning require considerable skill and patience; 

 a good general knowledge of the habits of the fish ; a 

 practised eye for the quality and condition of the water ; 

 an aptitude for choosing the most favourable spots — an 

 art which can neither be communicated nor described ; 

 firm nerves, and a steady, quiet hand. In favourable 



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