The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1902-08-29
PIKE AS COLLECTORS.
Some Strange Finds Made in the
StOmachs of These Wolves of
the Fresh Water,

the Fresh Water.
The pike or EsoX lucius, the luce of
the old writer's, has been ''called the
tyrant of the rivers, or the fresh-wateI
WOLF" says old Izaak Walton, ''by rea-
son of his bold devoWing disposition y
Honest IZaall goes on to quote story
of a man who was watering mule one
day when ''a pike bit his mule by the
lips, to which the pike held so fast
that the mule drew him out of the wa
ter, and by that accident the owner of
the mule angled out the pike" This
sounds just trifie fshy even for ''Ye
Compleat Angler" says the New York
Sun.
But many fisherman can cite well
authenticated cases of the voracity and
impudence which go far toward justi-
flying the bad character given to the
pike. From the stomach of an 49,
FOUNDER caught in the St. Lawrence
were taken a foHr-pound club, a half
grown duck, a young kitten and a
baby's boot.
A lad cooling his feet in the water
over the stern of a boat on the upper
Ottawa was almost pulled overheard
by huge pike that severely lacerated
his toes before deciding that five feet
of boy was rather more than he could
manage conveniently to stow away.
But it is only fair to remember that
the pike is leen hunter of curios
When he is in the humor of it he will
PIX up anything curious or glit:ering
without any reference to it's edible
qualities. Among the Laurentian hills
IT is not at all uncommon to find cubes
and nodules of shining iron pyrites, the
Nundic of the gold miner, in the
paunches of pike.
A silver cuff stud was watched in its
fall through the clear water of one OF
the lakes there, until it was deftly
caught and swallowed by small-sized
pike that could have had no possible
practical use for it
In Beauce county and in the St. Fran
els river a five-pounder was caught and
sold to passer-by for 25 cents and
within the fish was discovered nearly
an ounce of gold in little nuggets. The
writer once took a corroded half dol
lar from the interior of three or four,
pound pike that appeared to be quite
healthy ia spite of his ill-gotten gain.
A pike was speared on the Gatineau
and inside was found a broken old silver
teaspoon bored at each end for trolling
purposes-hooks and swivel having evi
IDENTIFY rusted out. 1t was said by al
aged man, who saw the find, that 81
years ago he had had that homemade
spoon bait jerked off his line by fish in
that same lake. If the old mans mem
ory Is not at fault, Bacon was wrong In
his assertion that the pike does not live
more than 40 years, and the stories OF
marked fish having been known to eX
ist for more than 200 years may be cor,
rect, after all.
These instances tend to prove the
theory that it is not because he is sc
foolish as to be deceived by any clumsy
likeness to fish in the ordinary spoor
bait or spinner, but because of his de.
sire to collect pretty shining things
that the pike is caught by such lures
'ISh eliO l'liAp fCSlo IMP Sp44SS ciI y
glistening or handsome thing dragged
before his nose will attract a pike,
and some other brea thing things also
The pike is capricious, too. On one
occasion when others were trying in
vain to tempt the water wolves with
such dainties as minnows and frogs
clergyman caught five very large fish
70 Of I, a6 1,o :
been discovered in nice dry corner
among his sermons.
The same reverend sportsman once
had grand success among the pike with
the head of a red squirrel, and lac
did just about as well with the tail OF
the same creature. This, however, was
the result of observing a greedy young
struggle, dragging under a squirrel as
he was swimming across little bay
On an evil day pike were introduced
into Bronze lake some As years ago
And though the conditions are ali
favorable, no specimen has yet beer
taken from the lake exceeding ter
pounds in weight.
AohSiupiihS tlc large SlZe-ITOm fl
to GO pounds-to which the same fish
attain elsewhere, it is evident that the
pike is of slow growth and would re,
quire a century or two of life TO attain
maturity Considering his voracity
and other bad qualities, it would Ger.
tainly be in the interests of sport fo1
fish protective associations and lovers
of angling to wage unending warfare
against the greedy all-devouring pike