68 ANGLING. 



stands long and heavy work better than bamboo, and if 

 you chance upon a heavy fish of from 121b. to 201b., or 

 even more (as one may sometimes), you feel more at home 

 and more safe with him. I think, too, that a solid rod, if 

 properly made, has a better spring and casts a better bait 

 than cane. The rod should have a large button on the 

 end of the butt to rest against the hip comfortably ; those 

 of rubber are best, as they do not slip. The line should be 

 of eight-plait dressed silk, not too coarse or thick, as it 

 does not run so freely through the rings, and not too fine, 

 or it will not stand the work, and is apt pot only to wear 

 out speedily but to tangle and kink when it gets wet. 

 This kinking in pike spinning is sometimes a great 

 nuisance. It comes from the swivels not working properly, 

 and the spinning being continued up the running line; 

 and the best way to prevent it is to have most of your 

 swivels below the lead, and to use a Field lead, the balance 

 of which, being all on one side, prevents all the line above 

 it from turning round or spinning. Always after using 

 your lines and this applies to all lines before putting 

 them away, unreel them and wind them round the back 

 of a chair to dry thoroughly, or they will very soon rot. 

 In choosing a line pick out one that is not too hard in the 

 dressing, or you may find the dressing crack at intervals 

 in using, and your line become a sort of chain, in links as 

 it were, with soft places every foot or two. Neither should 

 it be damp or sticky, or in a very short time you will find 

 the dressing wear off. Choose one that feels dry and firm 

 in the grasp, but not wiry, and always give it a trial by a 

 strongish tug before purchasing, as these dressed lines, 

 owing to some bad material either in the substance or the 

 dressing, are not unfrequently rendered utterly rotten by 

 the dressing. Some people when they have worn off the 



