THE CASTING REEL 69 



advantages that such an arrangement would have, it 

 would also have several disadvantages. The spool- 

 ing of the line properly might be something of a 

 problem, while, if not of the take-down style, a back- 

 lash would be quite difficult of solution; upon the 

 other hand, the weight of the reel is in the center and 

 the rod will not turn in the hand. (Parenthetically, 

 1 have often thought that without the off-set handle, 

 same attached directly to the reel plate as in single 

 action reels, one would have a perfect winch for 

 trout bait fishing along brushy creeks, nothing to 

 catch in the brush, one could even drag the rod after 



urn without fear of entanglement.) 



Some two years ago I received a sample 

 "Thumezy" reel, a surprising bit of machinery. 

 Made of German silver, put together in a workman- 

 like manner, it is a reel apparently built for a life- 

 time. The inventive genius who produced the 

 "Thumezy" must have sat up nights thinking out 

 the various things his winch will accomplish. Just 

 :o enumerate: the metal thumb-stall thumbs the 

 spool, the thumb is not worn by contact with the 

 line, and by pressing down to the lowest possible 

 point, the spool is automatically freed from the 

 winding gear, becomes free, so for casting it is a 

 free-spool; to wind in, the operator but presses in on 

 the handle which instantly connects the spool with 

 the gear; slide on the click on the rear plate and 



idvance the thumb-stall notch by notch 6 of 



