










noe in your direction. Your thought 
has been, “Just one savage a little 
marter than the other.” 
F course, you were aimost unaware 
that you were toying with a bau- 
ble; a large glass bead had somehow 
come into your posssession. It was col- 
ored like an amethyst and brilliant, 
commercial value, one cent, or there- 
abouts. “Want to buy um fish?” asks 
tthe Indian. You shake your head 
slowly, then arise and view the fish 
more carefully. There is full seven 
ends of him and cheap at one dollar, 
‘fresh too, just from the cold waters of 
the lake. The glass bauble is in your 
fingers and somehow kept in plain view 
of the Indian who becomes interested 
and holds out his hand to have a look 
at it in closer manner. You, a little 
reluctantly, hand it to him as if of 
great value. The Indian has blue beads 
‘and red beads, but none like this and it 
‘would look nice on some squaw finery or 
on his own head dress. “Give um fish for 
bead” he says after a pause. You shake 
your head, and holding up two fingers 
say, “two fish.” No got two, to-mor, 
get one more. Meb’e so; next day, 
bring to camp then.” You finally agree; 
you know he’ll do as he says, for the 
Indian is honest. Again two savages, 
‘one a little smarter than the other; and 
you bear your prize to camp to be baked 
and eaten, without a blush. 
“-Twould be a gracious thing to know 
| What fishes think of men.” 




| Someone, sometime, ungraciously re- 
‘marked that the bigger the lie in rela- 
‘tion to size and veracity of the pike, 
‘the more readily it would be believed. 
It was at best an unkind remark and 
yet truths are at times homely things. 
‘The extreme northern range of the pike 
is illustrative of its hardiness. Siberia 
as well as Alaska are represented in its 
wanderings and distribution, as well as 
all northern and central Europe. The 
last named section has been for cen- 
turies the strongest claimant for leg- 
ends of extravagant size and voracity. 
‘There is little doubt, however, that the 
middle Atlantic states are fairly repre- 
sentative of the family, and its habits 
will be treated of as met in that lo- 
‘ality. 
_ The most important as well as abun- 
dant member of the family is the pick- 
erel while in weight it does not nearly 
approach the “true pike” in some coun- 
tries as well as some sections of our 
own, still, its abundance and game 
‘qualities accord it first place in the esti- 
“mation of anglers. 
bY is dark green on the back shad- 
~ ing to a greenish yellow on the sides 
with nearly white belly. Its sides are 
broken up by what looks like the links 
, 
4 

of a chain on the central line of its 
body, hence in some localities the title 
chain pickerel. These are usually thir- 
teen in number and run in a straight 
line from gill opening to the caudal fin, 
the thirteen links being commemorative 
of the thirteen original states in colo- 
nial days, gave it the title of “Federa- 
tion pike,” it is, however, one and the 

od 
The sliding bobber for casting— 
a good pickerel rig 
same fish. It is one of the anomalies 
that while, forsooth, a pickerel is of 
necessity a pike, all pike are not pick- 
erel. Throughout the middle states the 
pike is rather diminutive, rarely being 
more than a foot in length and a pound 
in weight. It is often termed “Jack” 
and is found much along grassy streams 
and at the headwaters of ponds during 
winter where is may be seen darting 
around under the ice. where the water 
is very shallow directly under one’s 
feet. They are very dark gray, or 
nearly black, and have darker bands 
which are scarcely visible until scaled. 
Their under jaw is usually the longer, 
the upper one closing down into it, 
much after the manner of the croco- 
dile. 
While the pickerel is pursued eagerly 
by the small boy, it is essentially an 
angler’s fish, and the methods of cap- 
ture are as many as there are lakes to 
be fished in. It readily takes any kind 
of trolling lure such as spoons and 
phantom minnows, while skittering at 
the surface with pork rind, near over- 
hanging brush or lily pads, is highly 
successful. It does not favor bright 
sunshine as a feeding time and the dark 
of either dawn or twilight is much more 
favorable. It must be borne in mind 
that streams which lead down into bays 
or any salt-water stretches, the place to 
get pickerel will be found to be around 
the lily pads or any growths which are 
to be found just where salt water be- 
gins or fresh water ends. This state- 
ment may be challenged as it has been 
in the past by those who do not live 
near salt water, but the writer has in 
the years past seen tons of pickerel 
taken from the brackish waters of bays. 
The cool days of autumn is by all 
odds’ the best season of the year for 
fishing for these free lances, still, they 
bite at all seasons. But the cooling 
waters are to be preferred, and for the 
true soulfulness of the game, boat fish- 
ing is the ideal method. 
Mice s men like companionship, but 
the man of experience in pickerel 
fishing will pick his company when on 
a boating trip. It is easy to find boon 
companions and mighty good fellows 
and it is also easy to find mighty poor 
fishermen. The man who will persist 
in threshing around in a boat and, in- 
stead of laying articles carefully down, 
give them a toss to fall how and where 
they may, is about as desirable as an 
aching tooth. And if you have boys, 
well, if you are going on a picnic, take 
them along, of course. They are at all 
times interesting, but if you are really 
going fishing and are possessed of two 
healthy boys, leave half of them home, 
you can educate them much faster one 
at a time, besides two boys in a boat 
at one time will produce more deviltry 
and less fish than anything under the 
sun this side of a thunder storm. This 
is no diatribe against either men or 
boys. It is telling the truth about fish- 
ing under certain conditions. Of course, 
one can fish under almost any condi- 
tion of noise or tumult, but catching 
fish is another matter, and vibrations 
(Continued on page 437) 
407 
