Forest and Stream 
442 
AUTUMN FISHING FOR THE PIKES 
DURING CALM DAYS IN OCTOBER VERY GOOD SPORT MAY 
BE HAD CASTING INSHORE FOR THESE FINE FELLOWS 
W ITH many anglers the great 
northern pike, or just plain 
pickerel, if you so choose to 
call him, is not held in any too 
great repute ; in fact, he is called very 
many unpleasant names. One charge in 
particular being that he is a scavenger 
(which he absolutely is not), and last, 
but not least, that he is a game fish 
without anything to uphold his reputa- 
tion in this line. 
1 sometimes think that those who are 
so quick to belittle the fighting qualities 
of the great northern pike are those who 
have never caught one ; they confuse 
them with those small, arrowy green, or 
grass pickerel which hardly ever go over 
two pounds weight, and which, taken 
from many sun-warmed, often half-stag- 
nant waters, put up no more fight than 
a good-sized chub. But once having 
taken from cold, clear, invigorating 
spring-fed water, a true pike of from ten 
to twenty pounds weight he is liable to 
have many prejudices severely handled; 
and even though he has fished for some 
of the choicest game fish in the country, 
I am prone to say that an autumn-caught 
pike, in northern waters, will give him 
his fill of surprises. 
I have noticed with not a little secret 
amusement that these gentlemen, given 
to underestimating the pike as a game 
fish, nevertheless do not go forth to cap- 
ture these wolves o>f the water with 
cotton - thread and three - ounce rods. 
WFat inconsistency indeed ! One of 
these gentlemen I remember with whom 
I had argued at length the proposition of 
pike versus any of the others as to fight- 
ers went forth one day to catch one of 
the “snakes” armed with a telescoping 
rod which he had closed down until it 
would have taken a whale to bend it ; 
he had a surf-casting reel on it, and a 
line of the Cuttyhunk family, of a sort 
I once used hand-lining for tuna off 
Catalina. It would give me pleasure to 
see some sportive gentleman tackle a 
twenty-pounder with light tackle. 
One will also notice the readiness with 
which juke anglers lash wire leaders to 
their lines, often of hay-wire propor- 
tions ! 
There is a certain meat market in the 
city of Minneapolis which through the 
summer and autumn gives prizes for the 
largest fish caught and sent in during 
each week. Hundreds of specimens lie 
there through the summer on ice in the 
window. One day six pike, ranging from 
seventeen to twenty-three pounds, were 
on display — a sight for tired eyes indeed. 
They were great, massive fellows, vigor- 
ous every inch of them; and I'll warrant 
that every one there put up a fight that 
would leave no doubt as to their pug- 
.naciousu(?ss : that rasping, tearing feroc- 
ity tjjat reminds me every time of a bull- 
By ROBERT PAGE LINCOLN 
A boat-load of fighters 
dog refusing to let go of a rope end — 
a bulldog with a tremendous vitality ! 
How many fishermen, upon catching 
an eight- or ten-pounder, have sworn be- 
fore seeing the fish that it was a twenty- 
pounder. And this is surely true if the 
pike be hooked in October, when their 
teeth are again solid in their jaws and 
their gums are again firm after the “sore- 
mouth” condition that they have to con- 
tend with during the dog-day season of 
August. This season, by the way, is a 
time of fasting for the pike, although they 
may be caught off of the bars in deep 
water. When, in early autumn, their 
mouths are sore no more, they commence 
to feed with vigor through all hours of 
the day and are as vicious as ever a 
creature in scales could be. 
TOURING the calmer days of Septem- 
ber and October some of the very 
best of sport can be had casting for the 
fine fellows with a bait-casting rod and 
some lure that in the water you arc fish- 
ing has proved very “taking,” as the 
saying goes. I-ate September and Oc- 
tober days prove to be calm as a rule, the 
waters undisturbed, often glassy. A day 
such as this is the poorest that one can 
pick for inshore fishing, the best time 
being when a slight ripple frets the sur- 
face. Often, too, the sun is very bright, 
sounds carry far and the fish are warned 
by approach. During the greater part 
of the morning and the afternoon few 
fish will be taken in the inshore waters, 
but in the early morning, from shortly 
after sun-up to about eight o’clock, the 
big fellows arc active. They then ven- 
ture into the inshore waters, and if one 
will take notice of the best places where 
to fish for them and go there then he is 
liable to be visited by a fish such as he 
has never before handled. 
When the fish start to feed in the early 
morning they are probably more active 
and more vicious, not to mention less 
particular what they seize, for the simple 
reason that their stomachs are empty 
and they mean to acquire a hog's portion 
before another scaly corsair gets in his 
licks. 
It is surprising how little fuss one of 
these great pike makes in adventuring 
around the inshore waters, yet if one 
will keep close watch of the area about 
pads and reeds he will be apt to detect, 
even at a distance, a great swirl of the 
water, proving the presence, generally, 
of a size of fish you do not sec in those 
waters in the later hours of the day. If 
the lake cast over is close to civilization 
and much fished, practically the only 
time you can count on catching a large 
one in the inshore waters is in the morn- 
ing, though later in the forenoon and 
late in the afternoon you can interest 
them by fishing off of the bars and in the 
deep water where it drops down at the 
ends of points of land jutting out. 
If you arc casting inshore in much- 
fished lakes you must make your ap- 
proach slowly, observing all the rules 
of caution, for once one of these fellows 
of the deep is aware of the coming of 
a boat he is gone. 
I particularly like to fish as above out- 
lined, watching for a fish to make a 
commotion in the water around the pads 
or reeds, for I know he is a hungry fel- 
low and will seize a lure on the moment 
if caught unawares. 
The moment the fish is hooked one 
must have the boat rowed out away from 
the vegetation or there will be a mix-up 
that will end in another “biggest one” 
getting away, for the first impulse of a 
pike when hooked near pads or sunken 
trees is to dive into the midst of them 
and there strive to entangle the line. 
This is probably an instinctive move and 
must be watched. 
' I ’ H E joy in casting for these fish is 
^ far greater than that of trolling: it 
is thrilling to catch a big fellow close in 
and watch him when he whirls down at 
it. -\s a rule, however, the strike comes 
suddenly, without warning, and for some 
time thereafter it is a question if the 
hold is secure enough to stand the strain. 
wire leader of the gimp sort (com- 
posed of many fine strands of brass wire 
braided into one), some six inches or 
so in length, is long enough to protect the 
line from being reached by the fangs 
of the fish. A length such as this does 
not interfere with the casting of the lure. 
.Tt the same time it is a needed protec- 
tion. 
The lure to use in inshore fishing is 
