REELS. 43 



ruple multiplier turns the spool four times to one revolution 

 of the handle. The object of this is not only that they will 

 wind up line faster, but that they may run more freely, for 

 multiplying reels are used in bait-casting and the momentum 

 of the bait must draw out the line from the reel. They are 

 made long in proportion to their diameter, for the running 

 of the spool must be controlled by pressure of the thumb 

 when casting, and the narrow kind would not allow this. 

 When winding in line it must be guided by the hand so that 

 it winds evenly on the spool. 



These reels all have balance handles. All of them are 

 fitted with sliding click and some of them with a drag. The 

 drag is to make the reel run harder and tire the fish. 



The best reels are made as carefully as a watch, of the 

 best German silver and steel, the bearings made very hard to 

 make them run easily and resist wear, and some are 

 jeweled or have ball-bearings. These fine reels come very 

 high, from ten to sixty dollars, but if one does much fishing, 

 and can stand the initial cost, they are well worth the money, 

 for they will never wear out and are a source of continuous 

 joy to the owner. They are the kind that are used in the 

 bait-casting tournaments and the longest casts have been 

 made with them. 



This description applies to reels of the standard design, 

 but in late years special reels to do away with the thumbing 

 operation, always difficult for the amateur, have been in- 

 vented. These are called "self-thumbing" reels. This device 

 is entirely concealed inside the reel and consists of simple 

 weights attached to the flanges of the spool. They are said 

 to work very well and enable the amateur to cast a bait as 

 well as the experienced fishermen, without letting the spool 

 overrun and make a "backlash," as a tangle of this kind is 

 called. 



Another fine reel brought out in recent years is known 

 as the anti-backlash casting-reel, and it is intended to govern 



