A FIRST LESSON IN CiASTING 151 



lengthens, necessitating a constant changing of the 

 position of the thumb. Obviously for such thumbing 

 the end-plate should be large enough to offer room 

 for the thumb, and therefore a larger reel is recom- 

 mended. Personally I do not like the method, but 

 must confess that after a day's strenuous casting, the 

 ball of my thumb is sometimes a sight to behold. 



While discussing the subject of thumbing is a good 

 time to mention a kindred matter, spooling the line. 

 No caster can successfully thumb a reel unless the 

 line has first been properly spooled. Spooling the 

 line properly comes before thumbing the reel. Care 

 must be taken to lay the line perfectly level and dis- 

 tributed evenly from end to end of the spool, no 

 matter what the haste or excitement when reeling in, 

 even if playing the record fish of the day. Should 

 the line be allowed to "pile" in one place, it will 

 inevitably tip over and loops be wound under; when 

 the next cast is attempted, the rodster will discover 

 that he has one of the worst varieties of snarls 

 back-lashes to untangle. Unless he is using an 

 easy-apart reel, can get at the spool readily, he will 

 be tempted to attack the tangle with his jack-knife, 

 a method somewhat destructive of a cent-a-foot line.. 

 Eternal vigilance alone is the price of a well re- 

 trieved line, unless the caster owns and employs a 

 level-winding reel, for which I expressed a predilec- 

 tion in the first half of this work. 



The greatest temptation which the would-be 



