THETARPON 69 



fish. If good judgment has been displayed in his selec- 

 tion he will be an experienced waterman and will own 

 a good safe boat, capacious and roomy, with a seat in 

 the stern mounted on a pivot, so one can face the fish 

 during the battle. This is well nigh essential, at least 

 for the novice. 



Let us assume you have used care in the selection of 

 your tackle and that it is in first class condition. Your 

 line (you should have two) should first be wetted in 

 sweet water, stretched and dried in the shade before 

 use for this evens its strength by setting the lay of it 

 and thereby prevents kinking. This should be done at 

 home. Do not rely upon patent reel fastening devices 

 but securely lash your reel to the rod, so that by no 

 possibility it can come off in the heat of the battle. In 

 my opinion more fish are lost by the breaking of the 

 leader than by failure of any other part of the tackle. 

 It is well to break the continuity of your six-foot wire 

 leader by a swivel fastened midway its length. The 

 leader is apt to kink and snap off, and while many 

 anglers are sceptical over such use of a swivel I am 

 inclined to believe it is useful to prevent this dire mis- 

 fortune. 



It is permissible to double the line back for a distance 

 equal to the length of the leader. Before beginning to 

 fish wet the reel pad and the line for a good distance. 

 This prevents the line from burning under pressure 

 and increases its strength. The line should be wound 

 back evenly and smoothly, so it will render easily and 

 it should be staggered slightly on the reel which 

 facilitates its prompt flow under severe strain. The 



