REELS THEIR USE AND AISUSE. 54/ 



that the drag is on. Now tr}', and if you cannot pull the cap 

 off put one of the top screws in the outside hole, in the one 

 it came out of; don't screw it in, simply put it in as far as it 

 will go, and then tap the head with the butt of your screw- 

 driver, and your cap will drop off. Now take out the screw 

 in the end of the top-bar, and your end-plate will come off, 

 and your reel will be in pieces and ready to clean. Get a 

 tooth-brush and some alcohol, and clean every part, and 

 then take a piece of pine, sharpen the end and put in the first 

 holes at the ends of plate and cap, cut off the lock dirt and 

 put it in again, and again clean it till the stick comes out 

 clean. Clean inside of wheel in same way. After you have 

 your parts all bright, you are ready to oil. The great mis- 

 take made, generally, is in putting in too much oil. By 

 doing this, you clog your spool and it will not run. Put one 

 drop of good sperm oil in the first hole in plate, one in cap, 

 two on pinion that reel runs on, one on end of drag-pin, and 

 three on the teeth of the brass wheel at different points. 

 Now put the parts up just as you took them down, and your 

 reel is as free-running as when new. Do this every fall and 

 spring, and a good reel will last fifty years. 



No matter how tight-fitting your reel may be, you should 

 clean and oil it after fishing in salt water — not every day, 

 but after each salt-water trip, it should be cleaned and oiled, 

 for nothing injures a reel so much as salt water. It fairly 

 chews up the steel parts, so the salt water should not be 

 allowed to stand long on a reel. 



