196 MODERN SEA FISHING 



some distance from the lower end of the butt, which involves 

 one hand being held a few inches below the reel, the checking 

 may be done by the little finger of the hand held above the reel. 

 This seems a complicated matter in letterpress, but is simple 

 enough in practice. 



The tackle should not be taken out of the water until it is 

 close to the edge of the rocks, for fish frequently follow it, 

 seizing it at the last moment. When a bass takes a bait offered 

 to him Nottingham fashion and makes one of his grand rushes, 

 there is no loose line to catch in anything, and the fish may be 

 played on the reel, just as one would play salmon or trout. 



The beginner will do well, as soon as the fish is on, to 

 push up the button, which has the effect of turning the reel into 

 a check ; but those who are used to the Nottingham reels put 

 on any drag they require by keeping a finger on the rim of the 

 reel. When it comes to gaffing the fish and holding the rod in 

 the left hand with the butt on the thigh, then the little finger 

 of the left hand, which will be above the reel, comes down to 

 the rim of its circumference and prevents it revolving. 



There is a method of making short casts of ten or fifteen 

 yards which is extremely useful, particularly with light tackle, 

 as, for instance, a small float weighted with a few shot. Such 

 tackle cannot be cast off a reel, at least not with the line and 

 reel we should be using in the sea, and success sometimes 

 depends entirely upon getting out tackle some distance beyond 

 the point of the rod. I mentioned earlier (p. 185) that the 

 snake rings were not suitable for the two lowest rings on a 

 rod-butt, owing to their interfering with a certain method of 

 casting, and this is it. Stand with the rod in the right hand, 

 pull half a dozen yards of line off the reel, and hold loops of 

 the line on fingers of the left hand in the manner shown in the 

 illustration. Make a cast, and, as the tackle flies out, release 

 first the topmost loop, then the others in turn, and lastly the 



