BLANKS AND TROUBLES 189 



cottage hard by, thinking he might perhaps have 

 the good fortune to borrow one, else would his 

 day's fishing be lost. The water-bailiff was in. 

 " Oh, yes," said he, " I can lend you a reel, and 

 a line on it, with pleasure ; in fact, I always keep 

 a spare one by me for you gentlemen who leave 

 your own behind. It's surprising the number 

 who come to borrow it, and " (he added diplo- 

 matically) "they always return it to me." 



Various devices are employed to ensure not 

 forgetting things. I wish it were possible, in 

 buying a reel, to make a point with the tackle- 

 merchant that the article purchased shall be one 

 that will never leave itself behind. I like to put 

 my reel into my fishing bag, and to keep it there 

 when not in use. Then it is always there. The 

 danger, of course, is when you are cleaning and 

 oiling it overnight, or if you have run off line to 

 dry. In either case, when the job is done, the 

 wise procedure is to put the reel back at once 

 into the fishing bag, which one should habitually 

 have handy. To extract the reel from the bag in 

 the hall, and to leave the bag there, while the 

 reel is placed on the mantelpiece in the smoking- 

 room, perhaps some distance away, is fital. Some 

 fishermen, berore starting out in the morning, 

 catechise themselves thus : 



Have I my . . Rod : 



Have I my . . Reel and liner 



Have I my . . Cast box, with cast or casts, 



and damping pads ? 

 Have I my . . Fly case and flies ? 



