56 THE PIKE. 



it becomes impervious to wet, and sufficiently stiff 

 never to close or entangle, the oil producing the 

 former quality, and the gold size (which is insoluble 

 in water) the latter, whilst the commixture pre- 

 vents the size becoming too hard and stiff. A 

 trolling line should be thus dressed every season at 

 least." 



When the angler is away on a fishing tour, and 

 new lines are not procurable, it becomes necessary 

 sometimes to temporarily re-dress a spinning or 

 trolling line, which may be accomplished by stretch- 

 ing the line between two trees or posts, and 

 thoroughly rubbing in white wax, finishing or 

 smoothing the line off with boiled oil placed on a 

 piece of wash-leather, and rubbed lightly over. 

 The wax and oil can be obtained at the nearest 

 oil and colour shop. 



Referring back to the sizes of lines, I find No. 2 

 quite heavy enough if made of pure silk, plaited ; 

 thick lines are not necessarily all of them strong. 

 A fine line, carefully waterproofed with a dressing 

 of linseed oil, copal or mastic varnish, and gold 

 size, and thoroughly dried, will last for years, is 

 always supple, and a pleasure to use. 



It is always necessary to dry pike-lines, or in- 

 deed any and all kinds of lines after a day's 

 fishing, by unwinding from the reel as many yards 

 as are wetted, and hanging them in coils on any- 

 thing convenient, such as the back of a chair, or 

 winding the line round the back of two chairs 

 placed a little apart, and leaving it there till dry ; 

 and when it is thoroughly dry, rubbing it with deer- 

 fat or some other good medium for preserving lines, 

 and making them buoyant, supple, and smooth. 



A very convenient little machine for drying 



