62 THE SALMON 



behind in the inn where we had put up our trap, so 

 of course we had to keep the fish on much longer than 

 would have been otherwise necessary ; but the culprit, 

 having taken off shoes and stockings, got behind him 

 as I turned him into a sandy dock, and all was well.' 



The reel should be an ordinary check winch, 

 not too large for the balance of the rod. There 

 should, of course, be plenty of line, but if the reel be 

 too small to hold enough taper salmon, a quantity of 

 thin strong line not taking much room can always 

 be spliced to the heavier and more expensive portion 

 used for casting. There are many inventions of 

 different kinds for 'improving'' reels, but although 

 their merits may be great, personally I dislike any 

 sort of complication. The line should be made to 

 suit the rod, and should not only be always carefully 

 dried on returning home, but also periodically tested 

 whenever it has been used. When a fisherman re- 

 turns with a glum face, and a story that his 'beast 

 of a line ' broke, and lost him the fish of the 

 season, you are usually safe in conjecturing that it 

 is his own fault, but you would not be wise to 

 tell him so. 



Your casting lines should be of the best selected 

 gut, and a short length of twisted gut next to the 

 reel line is a good thing, even when you are fishing 



