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STILLFISHING FOR VORACIOUS PIKE Putting in Practice the Principle of Fish Coming to the Sportsman In describing this method of pike fishing I have written almost entirely from the standpoint of fish ¬ ing in a lake but it can be followed with even greater advantage iu a river writes John Barlow in Outers Book First get the approximate depth of the hole in which you intend to fish then tie the string on the line accordingly anchor your boat near the head of the hole then putting the float and bait into the water let both go down slowly with the current Of course you must pay out line all the time so that there will be no drag on the float this is as fatal as drag in dry fly fishing The advantage of this method will be ap ¬ parent to all who have spent much time pike fish ¬ ing in a stream The first thing the pike sees is your Ijait not the boat as in trolling It is your boat being rowed up and down the river that scares the big fellow He has watched your boat puss perhaps for several seasons and he knows from experience it means danger consequently he follows the advice given in the early stages of the war about keeping ones mouth shut But let a good big frog or a lively kicking minnow go past his front door without any boat appearing in the neighborhood and he will soon make things inter ¬ esting If the pike is not at home you will most likely get that old bass by this trick that you have been after for some years he too knows the danger of your boat and has gone into his concrete j dugout as soon as ever he has seen it However let the bait float down naturally with the current without any signs of the enemy and see what will happen happenBETTER BETTER METHOD THAN TROLLING TROLLINGThe The usual way to catch pike is to troll for them either With live bait or a spoon of some kind I often fish in this way when going from one part of the lake to another Last summer I got sev ¬ eral good pike trolling with a green and yellow bait However this way of fishing involves a great deal of rowing and sometimes one covers a surprising amount of ground without getting a strike strikeI I have had my greatest success by anchoring and stillfishiiig for pike in much the same way as we fish for bass The hook I generally use cor ¬ responds to a number 4 Sproat and is snelled ti a single gut The leader is six feet also of single gut It is almost unnecessary to say that the gut must be like Caesars wife above suspicion A pike weighing seven or eight pounds will soon show where the leader is flat or frayed I use an enam ¬ eled silk line at least 150 feet long and a good split bamboo rod a steel rod will do just as well The rod of whatever kind must be strong without being stiff a stiff rod will pull the hook out of the mouth of almost any kind of fish as a matter of experience this often explains the loss of the big oiiei In casting plug bait we lose almost fifty per cent of the strikes and I am certain the stiff rod accounts for a good deal of the loss I measure the depth of water in which I am going to fish stipposb it is forty feet I then meas ¬ ure about thirtyfive feet tiy the line including the leader and here I tie a piece of string or silk round the line lineTOOLS TOOLS FOR THE WORK ON HAND HANDThen Then I take a cork float weighing about an ounce or a little more the kind used iii sea fishing with a hole through the quill in the center I put the float onto the line passing the line through the hole iii the float in the usual way then tie the leader to the line I put six split shot on the leader about four inches apart Then I get a live minnow the mor alive the better hook it through the back just in front of the dorsal fin and throw ¬ ing the bait into the water I allow the line to pass through the float until it comes to the knot which is thirtyfive feet away from the bait Then I backwater the boat eighty or ninety feet toward the shore and if possible over some rocks Here I anchor and begin fishing for bass at the same time keeping an eye on the float waiting for something to turn iin like one of Dickens famous characters one rowing over it in ten or fifteen minutes I often get a bite the float disappears I 8ihvay give the pike plenty of time with the bait three or even five minutes if the bait is large so that he can get it well into his mouth for he has to be caught and played with a single hook consequently one must get a good hold By all means raise the anchor of your boat before you strike the fish then you are able to take him out into deep water or to follow him if he makes ui his mind to go to the other side of the lake Moving away from the rocks where you have been anchored fishing for iSSi will also prevent the line from becoming entangled in the stmiv when playing the fish Cot into deep water as soon as vou m whenever you hook a big fiwh SINKERS FLOATS AND BAIT TO USE USEThis This method of fishing is nut roniiiliratiMl though my description of it may suggest that it is one thing is certain it gets the pike and other big fish as well at least that is my vxnurieucu Now u word us to the reason for souie of the things that have to be done The sriiit shot on the leader makes it certain that the bait will have to go down thirtyfive feet and stay at that depth Having the shot spread out in the way in which I have suggested makes it easy for the bait to swim round a minnow can easily carry two or three split shot but nn ounce sinker would soon kill it anyhow the bait could not move about so freely with a solid weight like that The float prevents the minnow from going down to the bottom and hilling among the rocks or weeds a thing that generally happens when one is anchored and using live bait Six split shot are sufficient to keep the bait down aiid also to counteract tlie buoyancy of the float so that a small fish can easily take it under The knot on the line keens the bait at the right denth for it stops the line going through the float at the place where it is tied It is batter to tie a piece of silk of string round the line than to knot the line itself that has a tendency to break the enamel and further the silk winds easily through the guides when reeling the fish in When this is being done the float naturally sjips down the line to the leader knot which is only six feet away from the fish making the netting of the fish an easy matter even when alone in the boat boatA A frog or any other kind of live bait can be used in this way First find out where the pike are iu the lake then proceed as I have suggested Some may have doubts about the singlegut leader being strong enough but I can only say I havenever lost a pike through the leader breaking I make my own leaders and find this more satisfactory and cheaper than buying them ready made I have tried wire and gimp for leaders but have not had much suc ¬ cess with either eitherGUT GUT LEADERS ARE MOST EFFECTIVE EFFECTIVEWhen When one is trolling for pike it is a different matter then a wire or gimp leader is necessary for the fisli has not much opportunity to see the leader It is moving through the water all the time consequently it can be thick and strong but when you are anchored and tliu leader is perfectly still stretched down in the water the more in ¬ visible it is the better Having trieil all three wire gimp and gut I prefer the gut because I have caught more fish when using it itNeither Neither have I found that pike bite the gut through when anything like this hapi eiis it is due as much to the fisherman as to the fish Of course if one attempts to pull the fish in by main force many things may happen It is well to re ¬ member that a five pound fish cannot be yanked into a boat as though it were a minnow When the gut is cut it is generally because it has l een see ¬ sawed across the jaw of the fish in pulling him in not that the fish has bitten it through When a fish is hooked he keeps his mouth open all the time trying to get rid of the bait the severed suell is due to the way iu which the fish is handled lu trolling a gut leader or any other kind of leader can be bitten off as clean as though it were cut with a razor but under these circumstances the pike strikes savagely at tlm bait he has to catch it because it is moving away all the = tinie Iu stillfishing the bait is at rest and the pike can take it leisurely a si a matter of fact that is how he does take it You will see the float bobbing up and down violently several times before it finally disappears disappearsPike Pike arc shy fish and the farther the boat can l e kept away from the bait the better Anything that renders the connection between the bait and the line indistinct is an advantage In trying this method of fishing one finds it worth while to have the line greased this will make the line stay on the top of the water between the float and the rod other ¬ wise it will sink to the bottom and may get fouled among the stones The best line grease I know is a tube of laiioliue which may be bought at any drug store The best English deer fat is mostly good American mutton fat anil this is what lano liiie is chiefly made of I have used this for many years and find it keeps the line soft without in ¬ juring tlie enamel
