75 



with our usual earnestness to convey practical 

 instruction to our gentle readers, be as plain 

 and precise on this subject as possible; first 

 stating our own method of throwing a line, 

 and then extracting the pith and marrow of 

 the information communicated by the best 

 authorities on this nearly all-absorbing matter. 



Throwing the Line : We recommend the 

 beginner, when learning how to throw a line, to 

 use a small and rather stiff rod, of the length 

 of eleven feet. Let him commence, having the 

 wind on his back, with about six yards of line 

 out using the reel-line, and not the casting- 

 line, until he can fling with some little ease and 

 precision and let him throw at a mark in 

 the water, such as the head of a pile or small 

 rock. The process of throwing the line is per- 

 formed by the wrist and elbow joints, and re- 

 quires no effort from the other parts of the 

 body. The rod, grasped tightly in the right 

 hand a few inches above the but-end, is sent 

 back by a sharp impulsion or jerk of the wrist 

 backwards toward the shoulder, and the motion 

 is stopped by the play of the elbow joint being 

 arrested by the meeting of the muscles in the 

 fleshy or rather muscular parts of the lower and 

 upper bones of the arm. When this stoppage 

 takes place, the rod is bent backwards with 



