CHAPTER III. 



Reels. 



SING a reel for lengthening and shortening 

 the line has been practiced since the beginning 

 of the seventeenth century, maybe longer, for 

 Izaak Walton speaks of the reel in his "Com- 

 plete Angler," though he does not appear to be 

 well acquainted with it, and probably never used 

 one himself. The "wheel" used at that time was 

 a simple, single action reel, and these same single action 

 reels are the only kind used in England today. They are 

 also used in this country for fly fishing. The multiplying 

 reel is all American. 



The single action fly reel is the simplest form of fishing 

 reel that can be made. It consists of two side plates, held 

 together by means of five pillars one at the top, one at each 

 side and two at the bottom. These two bottom pillars "are 

 attached to the base which holds the reel to the rod. On 

 cheap reels these pillars may be riveted, but on all the better 

 grades they are screwed. Ordinarily they are placed near the 

 edge of the circular plates, but sometimes are fastened into 

 extensions of the edges, and these are called raised pillar 

 reels. This forms the framework. In the center is the 

 spool, which is a spindle with disc-shaped ends, not unlike 

 a thread spool, and it turns freely between the side plates. 

 An extension of this spindle projecting through the right 

 side plate is fitted with a crank and handle. The line is 

 fastened to the spool, a little hole being placed there for 

 tying, and it is wound up by turning the handle. That is 

 the reel in its simplest form. 



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