60 CASTING TACKLE AND METHODS 



come adept with the regular reel, in all conscience 

 let him use the self-thumber, self-anything, if he so 

 desires. The day is far past surely, when tackle 

 makes a sportsman; true sportsmanship is an infin- 

 itely finer thing than a mere matter of parapher- 

 nalia ; it is the controlling spirit of the man. While, 

 to me, there is more enjoyment in accurately gaug- 

 ing the speed of my reel with a thumb grown sensi- 

 tive from many seasons of service, it is not for me to 

 cry down the fellow who finds the self-thumber an 

 aid to pleasure. I use the self-thumbing reel upon 

 occasion, and am not ashamed of it, while a well- 

 known self-spooler is amid my favorite winches. If 

 you desire to "start something," just intimate that 

 I am "no sportsman." 



We have dealt with free-spools, of which there 

 are several makes upon the market, we have spent 

 some time with the self-thumbers, describing at 

 length the two best known winches of the type, now 

 we turn our attention to the self-spoolers, those reels 

 provided with an ingenious contrivance for distribut- 

 ing the line evenly upon the spool. 



I have already told you why the reel back-lashes, 

 indeed I have enumerated several "whys" but still 

 remains the great cause. Unless the line be properly 

 spooled while retrieving the lure, a back-lash is 

 bound to result at the next cast, mere thumbing will 

 not prevent it. In all my writing upon casting I have 

 emphasized the importance of spooling the line prop- 



