56 SALMON AND TROUT. 



ing round the back and other parts of the winch. The object of 

 the revolution of the whole of the right-hand side plate or 

 barrel outside rim included is, of course, to enable the 

 check to be placed upon the running-out of the reel by the 

 caster's hand, without which means of regulating the length of 

 the throw Nottingham fishing would be out of the question in 

 practice. One great merit of this reel is undoubtedly its 

 extreme lightness. 



Mr. Anderson, of Princes Street, Edinburgh, and Dunkeld, 

 exhibited a very ingenious reel the ' Excelsior ' the principle 

 of which is in many respects similar to that of Mr. Malloch's 

 patent ' Sun and Planet ' reel, although the mechanism by 

 which the result is obtained is somewhat different. The 

 principle is that when the line is drawn out by a fish or by the 

 hand the side plate does not revolve nothing revolves, in fact, 

 except the ' winder ' and the two internal plates the moment, 

 however, that the handle is grasped firmly by the fingers it 

 operates in every respect like an ordinary check reel. The 

 specimen that I have is a very prettily finished bronzed reel 

 suited for trolling or lake fishing with a double-handed rod. 

 The diameter of this reel is three inches and, with about sixty 

 yards of medium-sized dressed silk line, it weighs thirteen ounces. 

 This size, however, is not large enough for salmon fishing. 



An ingenious invention for getting rid of the revolving side 

 plate is shown in the engraving (fig. 3), which is the facsimile of 

 a reel that I have used with satisfaction for fly fishing for trout 

 and other light work where weight is a matter of primary 

 importance. The object of countersinking, so to speak, the 

 handle of this reel is to prevent its projecting, as in the old- 

 fashioned plateless crank-handled reels ; which was a source of 

 constant annoyance owing to the line getting caught round it. 

 The handle was also very liable to be damaged or bent on the 

 smallest provocation. The advantage which the old-fashioned 

 reel possessed was its lightness. The same advantage may be 

 claimed for Messrs. Watson's reel, whilst the drawbacks of the 

 old system are obviated. This reel, which is supposed to be 



