LINES. 9 



float fishing and patemostering, but veiy bad for spinning. 

 If a fairly, fine twisted line is used, it should always be run 

 directly on or off the reel, and never allowed to lie in coils 

 on the ground, or it will tangle. Twisted lines, except those 

 intended for Nottingham fishing, which cannot be too soft, 

 are all the better for being dressed. 



If hand-lines are required, they can be purchased at the 

 seaside ^ from the dealers who supply the professional fisher- 

 men. The best are made of twisted horsehair, the elasticity 

 of which is very valuable when large fish have to be played 

 with the hand. Next to these are the ordinary hemp cords, 

 tanned, or dressed with a mixture of coal tar and turpentine 

 (for the latter I should substitute paraffin). Hand-lines com- 

 mence at about the thickness of a penny penholder, or a little 

 less. For drift-line fishing, light leads are strung on them, at 

 distances of two fathoms. A hundred yards is not too great 

 a length for any kind of line used in sea fishing. 



The Keel, or Winch. — This must of a necessity be large, 

 as it has to hold many yards of line. The simplest, strongest, 



Fig. 3. Nottingham Reel with Movable Check and Improved Line Guard. 



and perhaps the best of all winches, is a plain — or with a slight 

 check — brass one; but anglers who know how to use Nottingham 

 reels will give them the preference. These latter are now made 

 with a check, which can be put on or off — a very great con- 

 venience. The one fault with Nottingham reels is that the line, 



