6 ELEMENTS OF ANGLING. 



the least exposure to damp or whose machinery 

 comes to grief at the least extra strain, is a fearful 

 possession. I have three or four ancient Notting- 

 ham reels, relics of the past, which refuse to turn 

 round at all, and they are a perpetual sermon about 

 the follies of penny-wisdom. But I acquired them 

 in days when good reels were not so plentiful as 

 they are now. Besides being good the novice's 

 reel should, I think, be rather large ; four inches 

 are not too many for its height, in my opinion, 

 though many anglers are content with something 

 smaller. 



There are several reasons for preferring a large 

 reel. For one thing, its weight balances the rod 

 better ; for another, it holds more line and winds it 

 in quicker ; and for a third, it is more adaptable. 

 You can angle comfortably for small fish with a big 

 reel, but you cannot angle comfortably for big fish, 

 such as pike, with a small one. This point will be 

 made more clear later. It is, then, decided that the 

 novice buys him a 4in. Nottingham reel ; it should 

 work on the centre-pin system, and should have an 

 optional check ; these mysteries will be explained 

 to him when he is in the shop. He should make 

 sure that the reel is provided either with crossbars 

 or with what is known as a line-guard; I myself 

 prefer the crossbars, which are, I fancy, rather a 



