The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1919-09-05
HIS HONOR, THE WALL-EYED PIKE

monlcker Is plke-perch, but the boys
nave sort OF acquired the habit Of
calling him wall-eyed pike, and so We
leave it go at that. Fact Is, however,
he Is also known as the jack-salmon,
glass-eye pike. yellow pike, and blue
pike. He probably fell heir to these
names on account OF his habit Of
cumming around, making no particu-
lar spot his home. After he fathers
his spring family Of from one to two
hundred thousand husky youngsters,
and the little pikers have learned to
wag their tails he leaves home and
hikes out on a still hunt for food, as
he Is always hungry. having the repu-
tation of being the heaviest eater Of
the freshwater 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-eyed 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 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.
WaII-Eye Travels in Schools.
He can be coaxed into the creel with
live bait such as mud minnows, clubs,
sinners or small white-bellied frogs,
or you can use an underwater plug
weighted with sinker or troll with
a spoon. The wall-eyed seldom trav-
els single, invariably they run In
schools, a habit acquired no doubt
from fear that he may miss feed,
Where you catch one, you can figure
on more fish from the same spot un-
til they hustle off to locate better
feeding grounds. This hungry feel
ing, Buck, makes him great little
bitter, which feeling has made him
boon to the fisherman who can
always count on bringing home the
bacon" If he 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 a 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
cessful in trolling for the wall-eye.
Live bait, plug or spoon with buck
tail gang hoo!. makes an attractive
lure for him. Use your bait-casting
rod with a 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 q
strike you will notice the difference
between the action Of a bass and
wall-eyed pike. The pike will give q
firm and decided tug at the line, he
will not dash away with the bait, right
then is the time to strike with 9
strong, quick Jerk, as the large amount
of line out makes this necessary
Buck, IL that wall-eye is ten or fif
teen FOUNDER, you are due to have al
game a piece of fish work" on your
hands as you could wish for.
Caught Big One AccidentIy.
Last summer I was actually forced
by accident to land a twelve and hal
pound walleyed pike, and the way thi!
happened illustrates the fact that ont
must study the action Of the dineren
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
only put a line out after old Henri.
the local fishing expert insisted tina
he hated to waste minute on tn
water. We were in about thirty fee
of water when my reel began to sing
there was no other action, and ate
striking, Hen padded back, thinking
was snagged. Charley ran his ham
along the line and gave 1t a jerk t
loosen It, and right then things sur
opened up. Splash out of the water,
the side of the canoe, flashed the pike
and down again to the bottom.
was some sport with light rod, q ter
pound test bass line, and husk
wail-eye. Three times / brought hir
up to the canoe, fighting back an
forth without any long runs, but
continuous bunch of snappy jerks 70
lowed by dives to the bottom, befor
Hen could gan him.