The American Angler. 
The fine braided silk line, No. 6, 
brought out the last season, is a success. 
It has a high test (6 lbs.), and being a 
new departure has not yet been cheap- 
ened in character by excessive com- 
petition. But all fine lines demand un- 
remitting attention from the angler; 
that is, care to dry it always after use. 
Unreel it every evening on a small open 
frame, such a frame as fringe dealers 
use to wind their fringes on; it is in- 
expensive, compact and handy, twelve 
inches by ten by three. 
Suddenly called away once, without 
time to care for a damp line, lost me, a 
week later, a four-pound bass that had 
seized my trolling minnow, and at the 
first leap snapped asunder the line at 
twenty feet from the leader. He leaped 
twice afterwards, but as I had parted 
company with that portion of the line 
to which he had become attached, I 
was unable to help him off or in. Next 
day he took the bait again, and was re- 
lieved of all his troubles. Life to him 
was not worth living, if it was to be 
burdened with such an impediment to 
free navigation. 
Testing the remainder of the line 
and snapping off some ten yards more, 
the star of No. 6 was again in the as- 
cendant. It will hold its own until 
competition gets it down to the level 
of No. 5; all No. 5 isnot oleomargarine ; 
but it has gotten to itself a bad name, 
and in many cases has too long been 
made of refuse and rejected silk. 
The most taking spoon used by me 
last summer was an imperfect one. It 
was a mother of pearl bowl, about the 
size of a thumb nail. It would not 
spoon at all; that is, it would lie flat on 
its wire till the rod gave it a sharp jerk, 
and then it would fly round like an eye- 
servant, for a time, and then sit down 
on its wire to rest again. This fault 
187 
was its excellence, as the bass would 
swim alongside to inspect and see if it 
was alive, and then hesitate and doubt; 
but a little sharp motion given to the 
rod would wake up the dormant mother 
of pearl into action, and the bass then 
knew that it was a live thing, though a 
stranger, and accordingly he took it in, 
and I took him in. By means of the 
cutting pliers I removed the soft, cheap 
hooks, and attached to the brazed 
stump a gang of Sproat’s oo, two inches 
apart; the machinery worked to a 
charm. ‘Then one day a huge pickerel 
seized my , bewitching finery, and 
carried the entire product of my in- 
genuity off into his department of the 
unknown. On examination a_ brass 
swivel had drawn out, so the tackle 
dealer can smile to learn that a cent’s 
worth of poor brass lost me two thou- 
sand per cent. of its value, and I must 
recuperate at his profit. Moral: test 
every swivel next season. 
Spoons are very pretty playthings, as 
we see them whirling in the water from 
above. Does the fish see them in the 
same light? In fact, does he see them 
in any light? Is be not usually below 
the spoon, and does it shine and glitter 
at all to him? To the human eye in 
the water under the spoon nickle and 
jet are nearly of one color. Reflection 
of light from the spoon may shoot up- 
wards and sidewise, but not downward. 
Light may pass through mother of 
pearl, and so become scintillating be- 
neath that lure. If so, glass with a 
metal rim would make a better bowl 
than any other. The new metal spoon 
of this year, with an aperture along its 
center, may work out the same effect. 
It is to be hoped it will; if so, take a 
punch and cut several small holes 
through the bowls of all kinds of metal 
spoons; it cannot hurt them, and may 
