230 Bod and Tackle. Chapt. xvnt 



its essence. H., whom I have quoted elsewhere, was such a thorough 

 sportsman that he would never keep a head, however fine, thai 

 was not shot with what he called "the toy," the other rifles, which 

 were the usual weapons of ordinary mortals, were never used by 

 him, except at elephant and bison, and, in cases of emergency, 

 with bear, &c. ; but any deer shot unadvisedly with what he was 

 pleased to term scornfully a " blunderbus " was a head to be given 

 away, got out of sight as an unsportsmanlike thing to be ashamed 

 of. The chances are your 120 yards will never be run clean out 

 and broken, and, even if they are, it is certainly very much more 

 enjoyable, and perhaps just a trifle more sportsman-like to run 

 those remote chances. 



The amount of line a winch will hold, depends very much on 

 the description of line you use. The same reel will hold nearly 

 twice as much of the cotton twine recommended for Mahseer 

 fishing as it will of the india-rubber coated plaited silk, which is 

 both more expensive and more bulky. To avoid repetition, therefore, 

 it is perhaps better that I should give the sizes of winches when 

 speaking of running line. 



I would recommend the invariable use of a check reel in 

 preference to an old-fashioned simple reel. When you have just 

 the length of cast you wish to throw, the check on the reel keeps 

 the line at the same length ; whereas, without the check, it is 

 liable to run out a few inches each cast, and thus throw you out, 

 and trouble you. The noise of the check 'gives you immediate 

 notice of your having a fish on, and, what is of more importance 

 than anything, it makes the reel cease to revolve directly the fish 

 ceases to pull ; whereas, if it goes on revolving as a wheel or 

 common reel from the impetus given to it, it will take a turn or 

 two more after the fish has ceased running, and your running line 

 will get wound the wrong way, and the chances are that if your fish 

 makes another dart of it, there will be a hitch in the line, and your 

 fish will break away. The best winches are termed revolving plate 

 winches. In them the handle has no separate elbow round which 

 the line is apt to gel bitched, but is let into the plate which revolves. 

 Winches are made of all sizes, increasing by a quarter of an inch 

 in each size from 2 inches to 5 inches in diameter, and after that 

 the breadth is increased, and I have seen a specially made one 

 very much bigger than 5 inches in depth. If you trill have a mile 



