The herald., 1917-05-31
HIS KoNoR. THE WALL-EYEO PIKE

mOniCker IS pike-pcrch, but the boys
have sort OF acquired the habit of
calling him wall-cyed pike, and so We
/ leave it so at that. Fact is, however.
he is also known as the jaCk-salmon.
/ glass-eyc pike. yellow pike. and blue
pike. lie probably fell heir to these
names on account OF his habit of
/ cumming around, making 10 particu,
| lar spot his home. After he fathers
his spring family of from one to two
/ hundred thousand husky youngsters.
and the little pikcrs have learned 10
wag their tails he leaves home and
| hikes out on a still hunt for food as
he is always hungry, having the repu-
! tati0n of being the heaviest eater OF
the fresh-water fish. He lives almost
entirely on other live fish, and often
/ eats his own progeny to satisfy his
/ lust for food.
Where you find the wall-eycd in
| good numbers one day, does not guar
antee that they will congregate there
| the next. There is no dope on his
route and he has no schedule. At
times he freQuents the very deep
| pools and the next day he may be-
| lying off a shoal or sandbar. In no
matter what depths of water you To-
cate him. however, you will find that
he is close to the bottom.
Wall-Eye Travels in Schools.
He can be coaxed into the cTeel with
| live bait such as mud minnOws. clubs.
| sinners or small white-bellied frogs.
or you can use an underwater plug
weighted with a sinker or troll with
spoon. The wall-eyed seldom trav
els single. invariably they run in
! schools, a habit acquired no doubt
from fear that he may miss a feed.
! Where you catch one, you can figure
| on more fish from the same spot I'M
| til they hustle off to locate better
| feeding grounds. This hungry feel
ing, Buck, makes him a great little
| bitter, which feeling has made him
| a boon to the fisherman who can
always count on bringing home the
bacon" if ne locates a pike feeding
| ground.
| In the rivers he hangs out below
rapids, dams and log jams. where the
/ current is swift, gorging on the min
nOws, which are easy prey as they are
tired out with their battle with the
swift waters. This is a fine place
to cast for him, using live or artificial
| bait with fair-sized dipsey sinker to
take the bait down deep in the water
| He also has a fancy for sandbars in
the rivers and wading along a bar.
casting on both sides, brings good
results.
Troll for Him in Lakes.
In the lakes you will be more sue
Live bait, plug or 4 spoon with buck
tail gang hook makes an attractive
lure for him. Use your bait-casting
rod with q trolling tip to add strength
and reel out about a hundred feet Of
line. Don't make the common mis-
take Of moving the boat too speedily;
Just go along fast enough to keep the
bait moving, about one and half miles
an hour Is right. When you get a
strike you will notice the difference
between the action Of a bass and a
wall-eyed pike. The pike will give a
firm and decided tug at the line, he
will not dash away with the bait, right
then is the time to strike with a
strong, quick Jerk, as the large amount
Of line out makes this necessary.
Buck, IL that wall-eye is ten or tif-
teen FOUNDER, you are due to have as
game a piece Of fish work on your
hands as you could wish for.
Caught a Big One AceidentIy.
Last summer was actually forced
by accident to land a twelve and a half
pound wall-eyed pike. and the way Shis
happened illustrates the fact that one
must study the action of the different
fish, especially the manner in which
they take bait. It was one of the hot
test days in July when Charley and /
were crossing Black lake in northern
Wisconsin, SO hot, in fact, that l
only put line out after old Henry
the local fishing expert insisted that
he hated to waste g. minute on the
water. We were in about thirty feet
Of water when my reel began to sing,
there was no other action, and after
striking, Hen padded back, thinking
| was snagged. Charley ran his hand
along the line and gave it jerk to
loosen it, and right then things sure
opened up. Splash out of the water. at
the side Of the canoe, flashed the pike,
and down again to the bottom. 1t
was some sport with light rod, ten
pound test bass line, and a husky
walleye. Three times | brought him
up to the canoe, fighting back and
forth without any long runs, but q
continuous bunch OF snappy jerks fol-
lowed by dives to the bottom, before
Hen could gaff him.
DIXIE.