Haw-Ho-Noo; Or, Records of a TouristLanman, Charles
History
Haw-Ho-Noo; Or, Records of a Tourist
Lanman, Charles
Fishing -- North America; United States -- Description and travel
unsuspectingly in the immediate vicinity of the pike, and as fate would
have it, his tail was ferociously snapped at by the gasping fish. The
dog was of course much terrified, ran in every direction to free
himself, and at last plunged into the stream. The hair had become so
entangled in the fish’s teeth, however, that it could not release its
hold. The dog again sought the land, and made for his master’s cottage,
where he was finally freed from his unwilling persecutor; but
notwithstanding the unnatural adventure of the fish, he actually sunk
his teeth into the stick which was used to force open his jaws.
The pike of this country does not differ essentially from the pike of
Europe. His food usually consists of fish and frogs, though he is far
from being particular in this matter. He loves a still, shady water, in
river or pond, and usually lies in the vicinity of flags, bulrushes and
water-lilies, though he often shoots out into the clear stream, and on
such occasions frequently affords the rifleman a deal of sport. In
summer he is taken at the top and in the middle, but in winter at the
bottom. His time for spawning is March, and he is in season about eight
months in the year. In speaking of the size of this fish, the anglers of
Europe have recorded some marvelous stories, of which we know nothing,
and care less. In this country they vary from two to four feet in
length, and in weight from two to forty pounds; when weighing less than
two pounds, he is called a jack. As an article of food he seems to be in
good repute; but since we once found a large water-snake in the stomach
of a monster fish, we have never touched him when upon the table. He
suits not our palate, but as an object of sport we esteem him highly,
and can never mention his name without a thrill of pleasure.
In this place we desire to record our opinion against the idea that the
pike and maskalunge are one and the same fish. For many years we
entertained the opinion that there was no difference between them, only
that the latter was merely an overgrown pike. We have more recently had
many opportunities of comparing the two species together, and we know
that to the careful and scientific observer, there is a marked
difference. The head of a maskalunge is the smallest; he is the stoutest
fish, is more silvery in color, grows to a much larger size, and is with
difficulty tempted to heed the lures of the angler. They are so
precisely similar in their general habits, however, that they must be
considered as belonging to the pike family. They are possibly the
independent, eccentric and self satisfied nabobs of the race to which
they belong; always managing to keep the world ignorant of their true
character, until after their days are numbered.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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