THE SALMON ANGLER'S OUTFIT 



Some may suppose that the position of the reel had nothing to do with 

 the catastrophe. I maintain that it had much to do with it. Had the first 

 line rested on the rod it would not have been frayed by the rings. After 

 the fresh line was fastened to the other, the knot prevented the bishop 

 from shortening it in fighting the fish, otherwise it is impossible to believe 

 that a salmon, handled with vigorous discretion, would not have been 

 forced to surrender far within the limit of eleven hours during which 

 this one maintained the fight, and which proved too much for the en- 

 durance of the tackle. 



This brings us to consider the line itself, which, like other parts of the 

 equipment, is now very different in make and material from that which 

 contented anglers of an older time. In my youth, now sadly remote, 

 I have seen lines used of horsehair pure and simple; then came into 

 vogue a mixture of silk and hair; nowadays one never dreams of using 

 any but pure silk, plaited and dressed with a waterproof compound of 

 oil, wax and resin. Such lines are made either with a perfectly smooth 

 glassy surface, or with one slightly rough or granulated; I prefer the 

 latter, and a line giving a square section rather than a round one; but 

 that may be mere fancy. The really important matter is that the line 

 should neither be too light for cutting its way through a gale nor so heavy 

 as not to respond readily to the rod lifting a good length of it off the 

 water. 



The adept in shooting out a few yards from his hand in the last motion 

 of the cast will find that manoeuvre greatly facilitated by the following 

 process. Rub twenty or thirty yards of the free end of the line lightly 

 with fisherman's white wax (a compound of beeswax and resin); then 

 put on an old pair of gloves, take a lump of black lead, such as your house- 

 maid doth make the grate to shine withal, and rub it over the waxed 

 surface. It is a dirty operation, but it confers upon the line an enduring 

 polish which causes it to slip through the rings in the sweetest manner 

 imaginable. 



Forty, or at most fifty, yards of this heavy fore-line, duly tapered, will 

 suffice, spliced at the inner end to 100 or 150 yards of the admirable 

 material known as tarpon line. Although the bulk of tarpon line is less 

 than one -fourth of the heavy line, in strength it is fully equal to it. It is 

 too light to use in casting, but that is the very quality which renders it so 

 invaluable as backing to the heavy fore -line. In a big river a bold fish will 

 often take out 100 or 150 yards of line; if that length consisted entirely 



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