158 Wet-Fly Fishing 



cleansed, and the spindle delicately oiled. 

 If this is not done, the sand works its 

 way in under the revolving plate, and will 

 wear the reel out, long before its time. 



How often does it occur that some 

 angling friend will confide in you how fre- 

 quently he gets " smashed up," especially 

 when fishing a large and somewhat rapid 

 river. Let us suppose a case ! The angler 

 is casting up stream, in the teeth of the 

 breeze, and is using very fine-drawn gut. 

 The force needed to cast the fine gut line 

 necessitates the point of the rod often 

 coming very near the water, and now and 

 then, even touching it. As the line alights, 

 a large trout seizes the fly and makes a wild 

 dash for liberty. Then follows a heavy 

 pull, with the inevitable smash. This is 

 often put down to " bad luck," that flatter- 

 ing excuse for every loss under the sun, 

 from bad investments down to broken gut 

 casts (or "collars"). I boldly affirm that 

 a considerable percentage of these losses 

 are preventable, and not only is this so, but 

 I hold that the reel, not the rod, is generally 

 at fault. 



Men will pay the greatest attention to 

 the delicacy of the rod, who will use a reel 

 just as it comes from the manufacturer's 



