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CHAPTER II.

OF ROD, LINE, AND OTHER TACKLE.

"Omnia quæ multò antè memor provisa repones,
Si te digna manet divini gloria ruris."

VIRG. Georg. i. 167.

"First, all thy tackle thoughtfully provide,
Ere April call thee to the Wandle's side:
So shall the glory of the streams be thine,
The spotted trophies of the tapering line!"

LIKE the bow of the Archer, the Rod of the Angler should be duly proportionate in dimensions and weight to the strength and stature of him who wields it. The strong or tall man may venture upon a rod about fourteen or fifteen feet long but to the person who is shorter or less robust, one so short even as twelve or twelve feet and a half, and light in proportion, is recommended, as the command will be more easily obtained, and with very much less fatigue to the arm. The best materials are ash for the stock, lance-wood for the middle, and bamboo for the top; the butt should have a hole drilled down it containing a square top, and a spike is made to screw into the end, which is found useful to stick into the ground, and keep the rod upright The ferrules of brass

when landing a good fish.

should fit into each other with screws.

A good Rod should be such that its pliability may be felt in the hand; yet it should not deviate or droop by its own weight, if held by the butt in a horizontal position, much more than a foot or two from a straight line.

The rings are usually too small; not allowing such slight obstacles on the line, as can never be totally prevented, to run with sufficient freedom through them; they should all be of the size of those usually put upon the stock. The rod may not have quite so neat an appearance thus treated, but this will be found to be amply compensated in its use; for the sudden stops occasioned by an accident to the line, whilst being pulled up rapidly, has often caused the escape of a good fish, the straining of, if not breaking a good rod, and sometimes a total loss of the angler's Vade Mecum, good temper.

Rings may be had split down the middle, in the manner of key rings, very little heavier, yet larger, than the usual rings. These can be easily substituted upon the little metallic loops in lieu of the smaller rings, by the possessor of the rod himself, without at all injuring it. Verbum sapienti.

Reel Line.

The beginner should not take the finest FLY LINE he can buy, but rather choose the strongest

line of this kind to be had, since too fine a line will not only be more likely to break than a heavier one, but will not be so easy for him to throw. A taper line entirely of hair, is the easiest to cast with.

Reel.

Notwithstanding the many complaints which have been made of the REEL usually sold, no very great improvement upon it seems to have been put into practice. The principal requisites seem to be, in the first place, a capability of winding up the line rapidly; secondly, smallness; thirdly, lightness; fourthly, freedom from liability to derangement.

Perhaps rather too much of the first requisite is generally sacrificed for the sake of cheapness, and for the purpose of obtaining the second and third. A reel having a sheave upon which the line is to be wound, whose groove for the reception of the line is three quarters of an inch broad, whose barrel is two inches in diameter, and whose total diameter is two inches and three quarters, would receive a trout-line of twenty yards perfectly well. The whole diameter of such a reel need not exceed three inches and a quarter, nor the whole breadth one inch and a quarter. The wheels might multiply five times, and therefore the average rate at which it would

wind up the line would be nearly three feet for every revolution of the handle, whereas a common reel (now before me), multiplying four times, winds up at every turn of the handle, when the line is nearly out, only three inches, and when it is nearly wound up, eighteen inches, making a mean of ten inches and a half. The proposed reel would therefore wind up the line more than three times as fast, and besides this superior rapidity, would possess the advantage of winding up the line almost as quickly when it is nearly all out, as when it is nearly all in. It might also be so constructed as to weigh very little more than the common reel, made for such a line, and would be less liable to derangement, in consequence of both the multiplying wheels being larger than usual.

For Trout-fishing a well-made brass multiplying reel of medium size is to be preferred, such as is usually sold for 7 or 8 shillings. If attached to the extreme butt end of the rod, its weight will be found an advantage.

A reel has been invented lately containing a spiral spring which acts (in the manner of the spring in a window blind) upon the axis to wind up the line.

And it has been recently, and very ingeniously proposed by an experienced brother in our art to inclose, either wholly or partially, a kind of

THE END LINE, AND HOOK.

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reel in the butt of the rod. If sufficient rapidity can be given to such a reel, without much liability to derangement (which does not seem a very difficult task), it will be an invaluable and elegant acquisition. This hint seems to have been partially adopted since our first edition appeared.

End Line.

For making a good End or Casting-line, gut is recommended in preference to weed, or hair; it should be of the very best quality, round, and of even thickness, clear, and hyaline in colour. If preferred, it can be steeped a few minutes in warm ink and water.

It may be made light, although as strong or nearly so as the end of the line. The length of the bottom should be about equal to that of the rod or say, a foot shorter.

Four or five of the very finest lengths of gut should first be chosen, then three or four more of the middle size, and lastly one or two much stronger, rejecting the flat ends.

These may be further proved before they are put together, thus :-One end of a length may be put between the teeth or held wtth pliers, and the other pulled until the gut breaks at the weakest part. This operation may be repeated with the best portions, until they snap with

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