32 CASTING TACKLE AND METHODS 



be purchaser of a rod bear in mind that this locking 

 reel-band must lock, or he will be driving ineffective 

 wooden "toggles" beneath the band to the efface- 

 ment of the reel-seat. It is almost impossible to 

 wedge a loose reel into position. I have often won- 

 dered why rod-makers do not reverse the reel-seat, 

 following the reel with the band instead of preceding 

 it, then the reel would pull into position instead of 

 out. I have experimented somewhat with a reversed 

 reel-seat with flattering results. 



More than one amateur had thrown his rod away, 

 or had it dragged from his hand by an unusually 

 heavy fish. I knew a man not so long ago who pur- 

 chased a fine steel rod one evening, and at the very 

 first cast the next morning threw the whole outfit, 

 including a $25.00 reel, out into thirty feet of water. 

 It is there yet, I guess, for to the best of my knowl- 

 edge it was never recovered, though many a small 

 boy wasted happy hours fishing for it. A simple 

 finger-hook would have obviated the accident. As 

 intimated above, a finger-hook attached to the reel- 

 band, acts as an efficient lock, the finger holds the reel 

 in place. Personally, I do not like the finger-hook 

 however, as it has a tendency to cause cramp in the 

 caster's fore-finger. The Bristol people make a de- 

 tachable finger-hook which is a good thing, as it can 

 be removed without trouble. I have given you the 

 "why" of the finger-hook, and it accomplishes the 



