REELS, LINES AND BAITS 123 



finely adjusted quadruple reel is worthy of equal re- 

 spect. If you are one of the people who insist on 

 " seeing how it works " practice a little self-restraint 

 in this respect; curiosity has spoiled numberless good 

 casting reels. If anything goes wrong with the reef 

 let an expert right it; otherwise you may have to get 

 a new one. 



The Line. 



The line for use in bait-casting must be a very 

 small caliber silk line with no waterproofing or en- 

 ameling whatever. It should be braided rather than 

 twisted to avoid kinking as far as possible. It should 

 also be soft braided rather than hard braided. The 

 hard braided line does not spool as closely and well 

 as the soft braided, and, moreover, is apt to be hard 

 on the caster's thumb, wearing the skin down to the 

 " quick " in a few hours' casting. Two sizes are com- 

 monly used in fishing, sizes G and H, and a size even 

 smaller than H, known as " tournament " is some- 

 times used. 



Never attempt to do bait-casting with a line larger 

 than size G. A large caliber line builds up so quickly 

 on the reel spindle that, unless the very greatest care 

 is taken in spooling, more care than one wishes to ex- 

 ercise when fishing, a few turns of the reel handle will 

 result in a bunch of line thick enough, if the reel is 

 pretty well filled, to foul against the pillars of the reel. 

 For average fishing, then, use a size G soft braided 



