274 



RECREATION MAGAZINE 



The small live fishes that are thrown 

 into the tank swim downward until they 

 catch sight of the pickerel. Then they 

 scurry about, usually swimming tow- 

 ards the surface, and close to the back 

 and corners of the tank, to get away 

 from the enemy. A number of the 

 pickerel make a sudden dash at their 

 prey, . taking the risk of striking their 

 snouts against the tank. But observe 

 the method of one of the shrewd ones 

 —it looks up towards the nearest little 

 fish with an expression which seems to 

 say, "I am not going to harm you ; do 

 not be frightened." With scarcely a 

 perceptible movement of the fins it 

 moves slowly towards the little fish with 

 such a far-away look that the little vic- 

 tim is entirely deceived. When near 

 enough, almost like a flash of light, the 

 pickerel strikes. 



What has become of the little fish? 

 Gone down the throat of the pickerel, 

 which won the game by strategy. 



Many people, even anglers, become 

 confused in designating the species of 

 the pike family. To a large number, 

 the pike and muskallunge are merely 

 overgrown pickerel. I have often heard 

 them spoken of as "lake pickerel," the 

 speaker evidently supposing that the 

 fish had attained a large size by living 

 in a lake where food would be more 

 plentiful than in a small body of water. 



An angler who fishes in Lake George 

 told me that he caught a pickerel there 

 which weighed eighteen pounds. It is 

 rare for one to be taken anywhere that 

 weighs even six or eight pounds ; the 

 angler had evidently caught a pike. In 

 England, where none of the family are 

 found except the pike, if a fisherman or 

 an angler catches a rather small speci- 

 men he calls it a pickerel, though none 

 occur on the other side of the Atlantic. 



One method of taking the pickerel in 

 former times, in some of the New Eng- 

 land States, may be interesting to some. 



Years ago the writer was invited to 

 accompany two or three friends to fish 

 for pickerel at night in a rather shallow 

 millpond, located in a Massachusetts 

 town. A flat-bottomed boat was used, 



and an iron rod about four feet long 

 was attached to the bow of the boat in 

 a perpendicular position. On the upper 

 end of the rod was placed an iron re- 

 ceptacle containing a fire. "Pitch pine 

 knots" were used, which burn for a 

 long time and supply a sufficient 

 amount of light to enable the man at 

 the bow of the boat to see the bottom 

 of the pond. A spear with four or five 

 barbed prongs was used, the boat being 

 gently propelled by one of the party. 

 The man at the bow with spear in readi- 

 ness kept a sharp lookout. When a 

 pickerel was seen, a quick thrust was 

 made with the spear. The man had 

 practically a sure thing of it, the pick- 

 erel having little chance of escape from 

 the unsportsmanlike procedure. 



The pike is the only member of the 

 family of the genus Esox which is found 

 on both sides of the Atlantic. It is said 

 to attain a weight of more than forty 

 pounds, though this is probably rare 

 even in Europe. When anglers who 

 are familiar with the pike are asked if 

 they are good eating, the answer gen- 

 erally is, "Well, fair." Walton, in writ- 

 ing of it, gives directions of how to 

 "roast him when he is caught," and de- 

 clares that "When he is thus prepared 

 he is choicely good, too good for any 

 but anglers or honest men." 



The actions of the pike differ some- 

 what from pickerel. Instead of making 

 a rush for the live killifish when they 

 are thrown into the tank as the pickerel 

 do, they continue to rest on or near 

 the bottom, apparently taking little or 

 no notice of the small fishes, which are 

 often seen swimming near or among the 

 pike. The feeding is done in the latter 

 part of the afternoon. Few, if any, 

 of the killifish are molested during day- 

 light, but it is doubtful if any are to be 

 seen in the tank the following morning, 

 indicating that the pike in captivity feed 

 after dark. 



As fishes in the Aquarium show their 

 natural characteristics as far as their 

 surroundings will permit, it is fair to 

 suppose that the pike feeds at night in 

 its home in pond or lake. 



