108 THE THAMES ROD-WINCH. 



sons prefer it made of solid wood, and of all woods 

 greenheart is the best, with a good splinter of the same 

 for the top. That is the rod I prefer. But, whichever 

 may be adopted, the rod should be ringed with good-sized 

 stout upright rings, to allow the line to run through them 

 with perfect freedom. If the angler does not require to 

 convey the rod from place to place, but is in the habit of 

 fishing the same water, and has a convenient place for it, 

 a single stick of bamboo, with winch fittings and a short 

 solid top spliced into it, will be found as useful and effec- 

 tive a rod as can be employed. I used a similar one for 

 yean when I almost lived on the Thames, and never had 

 reason to complain of it, as it was both light and powerful. 

 It will be found very advantageous with the ordinary rod 

 to have two tops, the one a little shorter and stiffer than 

 the other, for heavy baits and big fish, as the use of heavy 

 baits with an ordinary top would soon strain and wear it 

 out. Attention should be paid from time to time to the 

 eye at the top of the rod whence the line is delivered, as 

 this is apt to wear into grooves from the constant running 

 friction of the line, and if not seen to these grooves get 

 so sharp that they will in once or twice using cut all the 

 dressing off even a new line. A very good plan is to have 

 enclosed in the wire eye a movable bone or mother-of-pearl 

 ring, which can be turned round at pleasure so as to shift 

 the place over which the line runs. Many eyes have been 

 invented for the purpose of delivering the line with the 

 least amount of friction, and various mechanical contri- 

 vances have been put into use, but I have seen none yet 

 worth adopting beyond this. 



A plain winch is best with not too heavy a check, so 

 as to run the line off easily if the fish requires it* A 

 winch that will hold sixty or seventy yards of medium 

 sized dressed eight-plait line is desirable, and it should be 

 pretty stout in the frame, as it will have to stand wear 



