Archer Spinner.
My experience of pike fishing has been chiefly in the Hampshire Stour, which has a gravelly bottom, so that those fish, which are apt to be muddy in flavour, were superior to any I have tasted caught elsewhere. They are to be taken either with a float and live bait, or else with a trolling-rod and spinning tackle, baited with a dace or other small fish. After the care and tact which must be displayed in salmon, and especially in trout fishing, pike seem to be of a very inferior order of intellect. No concealment of one's person at the river-side is absolutely necessary, though it may be advisable sometimes, and the splash made by the bait in the water when spinning and which is enough to frighten all the trout in the pool, does not seem to affect the appetite of the fish we are now dealing with.
Bickerayke's Snap Tackle.
As far as my experience goes, I should say that gimp is the only thing that will hold a large pike, whose tactics are to cut the line with his teeth, or to wind it round a rock or root in the bed of the river and so defeat his human enemy. Even when safely landed he is still dangerous for he has jaws like a tiger, fitted with large, sharp teeth, which must be approached with caution. The trolling-rod is short and stiff, with large rings so that the line can run freely; the latter cannot of course be wound on the reel when fishing, unless in casting from the reel, but must be drawn in by hand. Great care is required to prevent entanglement, and the angler must beware of treading on his line as he moves along.
I found, inside a pike of twenty-five pounds, caught in the Hampshire Stour, a perch of three pounds, which had been swallowed whole. The pike had, apparently, only regarded this as a Hors d'œuvre and not as a square meal, since he came to my dace with the greatest voracity.
Perch fishing has always had great attractions for me, and I have caught many beautiful baskets of them, also in the Hampshire Stour. They are curious fish in some ways, and are to be found in large companies in pools and lakes, at the time of year when they are in season. When they are on the shallows they are not fit to eat, and will not usually take the bait. We fished for them with a live minnow and float, sometimes from the bank and sometimes from a punt. They do not seem shy, and I have caught them with my hand in the water holding the gut and minnow, but if once a perch is lost, no more will rise in that pool.
They must have some means of communication with each other, for after such an event the only thing to do is to move to another hole. When, by the disappearance of the float under water, the angler becomes aware that a fish has taken the bait, a short time should be allowed before striking as it must be remembered that the perch has to swallow part of the minnow before arriving at the hook. If left too long, the perch will gorge the bait (and this applies also to pike), the result being very unpleasant for all parties concerned. I have also caught perch with a worm, in which case the bait should be almost on the bottom of the river. The great attraction in this sport is that you can fish on a brilliantly fine summer's day, and see the objects of your attentions swimming about and playing regardless of you in the deep clear water.