264 BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 



tions, that 'preclude the playing of a fish, a reel is not nec- 

 essary, for the fish must be killed within a few feet of where 

 hooked, and must, of a necessity, be landed as soon as 

 possible. 



In this case, a Jong, light, and pliable but not too 

 limber rod must be used, say a natural cane-pole, twelve 

 or even fifteen feet long, with the finest and smallest line 

 that can be procured, which, in this case, is the twisted 

 silk-line. This line is made of very small caliber, nicely 

 tinted, of a suitable color, and is quite strong. It is manu- 

 factured by Henry Hall & Sons, in connected lengths of 

 fifteen feet, which is about the right length of line for this 

 kind of angling. The sizes run from No. 1, the smallest, 

 up to No. 5, the largest. The smallest, or No. 1, is the 

 size to use, always, when fishing on streams ; but for pond 

 or lake fishing, where Pickerel abound, No. 2 or 3 may 

 be substituted. 



Next to the silk-line, in order of merit, comes the twisted 

 or relaid sea-grass line, domestic or Japanese, the latter 

 being the best. They are numbered in the same way 

 as the silk-line, No. 1 being the smallest size, and the pref- 

 erable size to use. Many anglers, notably in the border 

 and Southern States, use the sea-grass line for a reel-line, 

 in preference to all others, because it is strong, of small 

 caliber, quite hard and elastic; and, as they do not cast 

 very frequently, it answers pretty well, but, as stated be- 

 fore, will kink when much casting is practiced. The sea- 

 grass line is both twisted and relaid, the latter being the 

 best, as it does not kink quite so badly as the twisted line. 

 In relaid lines, the strands are three in number, each strand 

 being twisted from left to right, and the strands twisted 

 together in the opposite direction, or from right to left. 



