TACKLE AND FISHING GEAR. 51 



I do not know if I am entitled to consider myself as the 

 author of this invention. The idea suggested itself to me when 

 chatting on the subject of reel lines with an excellent practical 

 salmon fisher, whom I once met in Scotland. He made use 

 of the word ' swelled line,' and I thought he meant such a line 

 as that I have now been describing, but I rather think, from 

 the remainder of our conversation, that it was the ordinary 

 double-tapered line a long line, that is, swelled in the middle 

 which he had in his mind, and described himself as using. 

 At any rate I could not find that the London tackle-makers 

 had ever heard of such a principle or had had any such lines 

 in stock. Mr. Farlow, who made my lines, is, I believe, pre- 

 pared to execute orders for similar ones. 



The importance to the salmon fisher of a line which will 

 cut its way through a fierce March squall has been so well recog- 

 nised that in order to give greater ' cutting ' power line-makers 

 have even gone to the extent of manufacturing reel lines with 

 wire centres. They do not answer well, however, in practice, 

 and my friend Mr. Senior informed me that some he had tried 

 'went to pieces,' almost immediately. 



The colour of the casting line is a matter rather of indivi- 

 dual fancy than probably any great moment, the more so as the 

 effects of different colours as presented to the eye of the fish 

 between oneself and the sky is very imperfectly understood. 



I may perhaps here mention a little ' dodge ' which I have 

 found convenient in winding a new reel line on to the reel 

 winding it, I mean, off the hard, neat ' coil ' in which it is 

 received from the manufacturer. After cutting the ' ligatures,' 

 I insert inside in the coil of line a stiff newspaper rolled up 

 which being elastic stretches and keeps the coil properly ex- 

 panded through the centre of the newspaper winder I pass 

 a rod joint or smooth walking-stick. This, of course, allows 

 the line and newspaper winder to revolve freely. The two 

 ends of the stick being now held by somebody's two hands, 

 the line will 'reel off ' with complete ease and regularity as 

 well, in fact, as from the tackle-maker's own winder. 



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