LINE DRESSING. 29 



When tlie line is hanging loosely, it sometimes gets round 

 what I may term the neck of the reel. To prevent this, Mr. 

 Pennell advised a short piece of steel spring to be attached 

 to the rod, with one end resting on a bar of the reel. Another 

 plan, suggested by "Hi Regan" in his useful work, "How 

 and Where to Fish in Ireland," was to pass a piece of 

 eelskin over a bar at the back of the reel, and lash the 

 ends on to the butt of the rod. Both these plans answer 

 admirably, and I only now suggest something different on 

 account of its extreme simplicity. Take a piece of twine, or 

 2ft. of the line ; fasten one end to A (see Fig. 8), pass the other 

 end twice or thrice round the rod, pull it tight, and fasten it 

 at B. You have then a mechanical equivalent of either the eel- 

 skin or the spring. 



The Line is the most important part of the running tackle. 

 It should be of pure silk, plaited and solid (inferior lines 

 are made hollow, or plaited on a core). It should be the same 

 thickness throughout, and not tapered as are the lines used in 

 fly-fishing. For ordinary casting in the Thames style the line 

 should always be dressed or waterproofed with an oil dressing ; 

 but for casting off the reel after the manner of the Trent 

 anglers (an excellent method when fishing from the bank where 

 the ground is rough and likely to catch the line, or in a high 

 wind) no dressing is necessary or even desirable. With regard 

 to the dressing, I can only repeat what I have already wi'itten 

 under the head of " Angling for Coarse Fish " : The best 

 dressing is simply raw linseed oil, but it takes such a long 

 time to dry that it is rarely used ; next best is boiled linseed 

 oil. The line is soaked for a week in the oil (cold), then 

 stretched between two trees, well rubbed with a piece of 

 smooth leather (this gets the air-bubbles out of the line), and 

 then put to soak for two more days. It is then stretched 

 between trees, the superfluous oil wiped gently off, and left 

 to dry — an operation which will take about six months. A 

 line so prepared will last for years. If it is desirable to 

 put on a fine polish, this can be easily done, when the line 

 is dry, by well rubbing it with a piece of leather on which is 

 a little raw linseed oil. 



