SECRETS OF THE SALMON 



limit of lightness. You notice a great difference 

 in fatigue, at the end of a long day, whether the 

 reel weighs six or twelve ounces. All my friends 

 who have handled my rod, with the light reel, pre- 

 fer it. The small barrel of the multiplying reel is 

 a great advantage, because the pull of the drag in- 

 creases as the line is taken out by the fish, and the 

 two-ounce drag it starts with becomes four ounces 

 if it is reduced to one-half the diameter. Very 

 narrow, large-diameter reels increase the pull too 

 rapidly for fine tackle. 



Good lines are hard to get and I have made my 

 own for some years. Very often the dressing gets 

 sticky and this renders the line useless. If the 

 dressing is too soft and pliable, it will not stand 

 the wear of passing through the guides fast, as in 

 heavy salmon fishing. I have several times worn 

 out a line in a few days so that it would not cast 

 well. In fact there were spots where the silk was 

 cutting. A line with a hard finish is best, a finish 

 containing varnish. A plain oil-dressing will not 

 stand this work. The line must be of suitable size 

 and weight for each rod to make it cast properly. 

 A line which is right for one rod is often wrong 

 for another. Take the line which casts best at 

 about sixty feet, without overloading the rod. 



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