FISHING LINES. 103 



in angling, when we fished for fingerling trout, shiners, 

 gudgeons, or sunfish, with black sewing silk for lines, or in 

 our adolescent days, when we made our own lines for Black 

 Bass fishing, by twisting together two or three strands of 

 sewing silk we somehow always preferred black silk ; and 

 we were just as successful in luring the wily Bass with 

 those somber, home-made lines, as we were after the braided, 

 light-tinted lines came into vogue. 



The Hall Company also makes a cable-laid line of boiled 

 silk No. 1, or about the same size as the " H " line 

 which is the best twisted line I ever saw for bait-fishing, on 

 account of its non-liability to kink, as compared to other 

 twisted lines ; indeed, for still fishing it will answer every 

 purpose, and even where a moderate amount of casting is 

 done. The one advantage of a twisted line is that it ab- 

 sorbs but little water, for it twists all the harder for being 

 wet, and thus causes kinking ; but when cable-laid this de- 

 testable contingency is obviated to a considerable extent. 



REEL LINES FOR FLY-FISHING. 



There has been no improvement in the best enameled, 

 waterproof line for fly-fishing, as it has been about perfect 

 for a number of years. However, some manufacturers 

 whose work in this class of lines was formerly not very 

 satisfactory, have lately shown a commendable spirit by 

 turning out much better lines. 



Recently, when in England, I examined the best English 

 fly-lines, but there was nothing that could compare to those 

 of American manufacture. London dealers showed me, 

 with much pride, the, metal-center line, which they claimed 

 to be the best fly line in the world; but A. G. Spalding & 

 Bros, sent me a metal-center, enameled silk line that is 



