take Pike at all seasons of the year, supposing the water and weather favourable; and it will be no trifling recommendation, that the idea of cruelty, which the use of a live fish naturally impresses, is, by this substitute, completely removed. The Rød should be longer than that for trolling; the line fine, strong, and twenty yards in length; the hook by some most preferred, is like that for the common live snap; the length of the gimp, on which the hook is tied, should be regulated by the size of the bait, and should be rather longer than the distance from the back fin to the mouth, that the looped end may be hung on a strong swivel, tied neatly to about a foot more of gimp, with a noose at the other end, to hang it upon the line, fastening a piece of lead of the shape of a barley corn, and weighing about an ounce, with a hole through it, two inches above the swivel. The bait should be a middle-sized dace; insert the baiting needle close behind the back fin, letting it come out at the mouth, draw the gimp to which the hook is tied after it; the short hook must stand with the point upright behind the back fin, the others will consequently be on each side, then hang it upon the swivel, and try if it will spin, if it does not, move the bait a little to the right or left, (which may be done without moving it from the hook,) the whole success depends on its quick turning when drawn against the stream, and when it does, it appears like a fish unable to escape, and becomes too tempting a morsel for the Pike to resist; this method will not only enable the Angler to fish a greater extent of water than the others, but is more certain to secure the Pike. The large ones, though bold in seizing the bait, are very cautious in gorging it; most trollers have experienced that after running out a considerable length of line, the bait has been mumbled to pieces and deserted, a disappointment here remedied, for a Pike has but to seize the bait, and he is caught. At both troll and snap some persons have two or more swivels to their line, by which means its twisting is prevented, the bait plays more freely, and to the dead bait in rivers it certainly is an improvement; in ponds or still waters one will answer the purpose. Another way of taking the Pike is with an artificial fly; many have asserted that they are not to be caught at all with a fly, but as a convincing proof to the contrary, the engraving of the skeleton of the head of a Pike is given, which is the biggest taken by a line, or perhaps ever known in this country, and which was caught in Loch Ken, near New Galloway, in Scotland, with a common fly, made of the Peacock's feather; it weighed seventy-two pounds; the skeleton of the head is at Kenmore Castle; the jaw at the top, is that of a Pike, weighing twenty-five pounds; a scale is annexed, by which the respective proportions of the two may be ascertained, and which will convey some idea of the largest Pike ever seen in Great Britain. The Pike fly must be made upon a double hook, fastened to a good link of gimp, and composed of very gaudy materials, such as Pheasant's, Peacock's, or Mallard's feathers, the brown and softest part of Bear's fur, the reddish part of that of a Squirrel, with some yellow Mohair for the body. The head is formed of a little fur, some gold twist, and two small black or blue beads for the eyes; the body must be framed rough, full, and round, the wings not parted, but to stand upright on the back, and some smaller feathers continued thence all down the back, to the end of the tail; so that when finished, they may be left a little longer than the hook, and the whole to be about the size of a Wren. A fly thus made will often take Pike, when other baits are of no avail, especially in dark, windy days; the fly must be moved quick when in the water, and kept on the surface if possible. Several sorts of these flies are to be had at all the fishingtackle shops. Pike are also taken with a live bait fixed to a certain place, termed a ledger bait; if a fish is to be used, the hook is to be run through the upper lip or back fin; if a Frog, (of which the yellowest are the best,) the arming wire is to be put in at the mouth, and out at the gill, and tie the leg above the upper joint to the wire, fasten the wire to a strong line, about twelve or fourteen yards long, the other end being made fast to a stake or stump of a tree, a forked stick is to be placed near the surface, through which the line is to pass, and suspend the bait about a yard in the water, by a notch made in the fork, but which when the bait is taken will easily slip out, but the best way is to have a wheel on an iron spindle to stick into the ground. Huring Pike is with large bladders blown up and tied close; at the mouth of each fasten a line (longer or shorter, according to the water's depth,) with an armed hook baited, launch them with the advantage of the wind to move up and down the pool; a boat will be necessary in this diversion. Huring Pike is also done by fixing an armed hook baited, at such a length as to swim about mid-water, to the leg of a Goose or Duck, and then driving the birds into the water. It was thus formerly practised in the Loch of Monteith in Scotland, which abounds with very large Perch and Pike. "Upon the Islands a number of Geese were collected by the Farmers, who occupied the surrounding banks of the loch, after baited lines of two or three feet long had been tied to the legs of their geese, they were driven into the water; steering naturally homewards, in different directions, the baits were soon swallowed; a violent and often tedious struggle ensued, in which, however, the geese at length prevailed, though they were frequently much exhausted before they reached the shore." This method has not been so long relinquished, but there are old persons upon the spot, who were active promoters of the amusement. Trimmers of two sorts are described, and also the mode of baiting them, in the Engraving; the upper are made of flat cork, or any light wood painted, to be seven or eight inches diameter, turned round, with a groove in the edge, large enough to receive a fine whip-cord or silk-line twelve or fourteen yards, or at least five yards longer than the depth of the water; a small peg, two inches long, is fixed in the centre, with the end slit, a small double hook fixed to a brass wire link; insert |