REELS. 1 1 



trouble of putting up and taking down a spliced 

 rod is purely imaginary, and simply betrays want 

 of experience in those who advance it as an 

 objection. I can tie my splice at any time in less 

 than a minute ; and whether I remain on the river 

 a day, a week, a month, or a season, it would never 

 occur to me to untie it until I go away. 



Reels. Of the means and appliances necessary 

 for fishing, there are none of greater importance 

 than the reel, and none in which, happily, greater 

 perfection in the manufacture has been attained. 

 Excepting multipliers, which are things of a bygone 

 age, no bad reels are now made. Of course they 

 bear the names of their vendors, but, like guns and 

 gun-locks, they are, I take it, generally made at 

 Birmingham, and the difference in quality is fairly 

 represented by the difference in price, which ranges 

 from two shillings to two pounds. The larger the 

 cylinder the better, and where intended to carry an 

 unusual length of line, the increase in size should 

 be rather in the direction of depth than breadth. 

 The handle, if of the ordinary formation, should 

 stand clear of the side, and the edges should be 

 bevelled off, so that in the event of its being caught, 

 the line may not be cut upon it. By far the best 

 principle, however, was invented by my friend 

 Captain H. L., of Dublin, some twenty years since, 



