128 COARSE FISH. 



baiting for pike, I advise adjusting the depth with 

 a small piece of porcupine quill tied cross- 

 ^*°^' wise on the line above the float and not 

 by jamming a peg in the float itself Let the line 

 run freely through the float ; when the pike runs 

 with the bait, the float is pulled under as usual, but 

 in striking, you do not lift your heavy float from or 

 against the water ; the line slips through it, and 

 almost the full force of the stroke is on the hooks. 

 Again, in the action of throwing out, the float slips 

 down the line to the lead at the commencement of 

 the throw ; the weight is then in a much better 

 position for casting ; a fixed float, a long distance 

 from the bait, sometimes makes a throw exceedingly 

 difficult, but the chief benefit, a far freer pull 

 directly on the fish, is obtained in striking. 



There is a multitude of artificial pike-baits ; I 

 . have tried many of them, and at the present 

 time prefer the " Wagtail " to any. When 

 the fish get to know the bait, it will perhaps not 

 be so killing. Spoons I don't like, though a red 

 and silver spoon, made by Bambridge, Eton, kills 

 well in the Irish waters. I know from experience 

 that Hardy's " Crocodile " spinner for a dead bait 

 is a good one (see p. 129). The natural baits are: 

 dace, gudgeon, roach, bleak, goldfish, minnow. 

 This last-named is small, but is very useful for 

 getting small jack out of trout-streams. Preserved 

 sprats are good spinning baits, being very bright, 

 and the preservative toughens them wonderfully. 

 These may be obtained from a number of tackle- 

 dealers. Dace and gudgeon are the best live 

 baits ; the former play towards the surface the 

 latter play chiefly downwards. Goldfish, I under- 

 stand, occasionally kill very large pike, but I have 



