234 MODERN SEA FISHING 



It is now a well-known item of fishing tackle, and is cheap, 

 simple, and effective. It should stand out half an inch from 

 the rod. 



For sea-fishing tackle (the hooks excepted) beware of iron 

 or steel in any shape or form, whether bronzed, plated, or 

 otherwise treated to prevent rust. For rod rings and any metal 

 fittings for which it is suitable I am very fond of phosphor 

 bronze, but hard German silver, or brass, answers almost equally 

 well, and doubtless some day aluminium will come into general 

 use for such purposes. The rod from which the illustration 

 was made was of greenheart from end to end, and I doubt 

 if there is a better wood for the purpose. As I said before, 

 it is not very stiff, nor when we have an exceedingly short 

 rod of this kind is stiffness necessary, even with very heavy 

 leads. 



When I first began writing about sea fishing I always recom- 

 mended a Nottingham reel, and lived in hopes that some day 

 or other a special reel for "saltwater angling made on that system 

 would soon be brought into existence by enterprising tackle- 

 makers. But now, some ten years or more later, I find myself 

 still only able to say that the best reel is a Nottingham reel. It 

 should be made as strongly as possible, far stronger than is 

 used for pike fishing ; both the spindle and the neck of the 

 reel should be extra stout. It should be fitted with the wire 

 guard illustrated on p. 187. These guards are coming into very 

 general use indeed, and a well-known tackle-maker has paid 

 me the indirect compliment of including mine in a patent reel 

 which he brought out recently. 



These wooden reels have one great fault after winding up 

 twenty fathoms or so of wet line the salt water works its way all 

 over the reel ; the wood swells, and sooner or later sticks. I 

 have been in the habit of preventing this by removing the barrel 

 of the reel from the back, and smothering the woodwork with 



