STREAMCRAFT 



alog they are talking about reels; the Britisher 

 also is likely to call his fishhooks "irons." Some 

 reels are heavy enough for winches but the 

 American reels mentioned are wonderfully light 

 yet very strong in fact they are too light, in the 

 estimation of some undoubted experts, who, no 

 matter how "fairy-like" the rod, prefer the bal- 

 ance and consequently less fatiguing action ob- 

 tained by use of a reel that weighs approximately 

 one and one-half times the weight of the rod. 

 Thus they would have a four-ounce rod carry a 

 six-ounce reel. Mr. Southard speaks quite con- 

 vincingly about this in his sumptuous and very 

 reliable Trout Fly -Fishing in America. "R. L. M. 

 (California)", a contributor to Forest and Stream, 

 suggests lead wire wound around the inside of 

 the reel-drum as a good remedy for increasing 

 the weight of a light reel ; or a piece of sheet lead 

 could be rolled about the axis of the spool. At 

 the same time he very well cautions that a too 

 whippy rod is made worse by a heavy reel. 



Reels should be kept properly cleaned and 

 oiled, and you must beware of resting the butt 

 of your rod on sand at any time, as grit will 

 work havoc with both reel and line. If sand 

 does inadvertently find entrance remove the 

 spool from the frame and clean it out at once. 



Leaders, and Preparation of the Cast. This 

 brings us to the consideration of the leader itself 

 and the preparation of the cast "cast" denot- 

 14 



