48 CASTING TACKLE AND METHODS 



realizes his ambitions, but realize them he will if he 

 be the right sort of a man. Somewhere I have said 

 that a true angler will cut out cigars if necessary in 

 order to secure a winch of quality. The average 

 rodster spends enough foolishly each season to pur- 

 chase a fine reel if he really desires one. Then, too, 

 our grade of tackle measures our infatuation, and 

 our understanding of the attractivity of angling. 

 Have I not always said that it is the individual soul, 

 if you please, that counts? Now I desire to. say that 

 there is no joy to which the angler is heir, more deep 

 and lasting than the possession of good tackle. There 

 is satisfaction in just handling the perfect reel, espe- 

 cially while the wild blizzards rage about the house, 

 caressing the highly polished surface with a soft 

 flannel cloth touched with oil, now and then striking 

 the handle so that the whirling spool may sing its 

 low siren song. The angler has never seen a reel 

 spin until he has handled one made by an experienced 

 workman with time to burn and not thinking of re- 

 tail price. Elsewhere I have told of buying a reel 

 for posterity, and it is not only possible but feasible, 

 well worth the sober consideration of any lover of 

 the gentle art. Think of placing an engraved reel 

 in the hands of an angling son or daughter, with the 

 admonition to care for it as you have cared for it, to 

 treat it as you have treated it, and in the end hand 

 it on to the rising generation. To will a winch, and 



