Fishing Eeels. 191 



Bacon, Holman, McCurdy, Mills, Ennis, Harvey, Blair, 

 Crittenden, etc. 



The rods used by these pioneers of bass fishing con- 

 sisted of the upper ten feet of a well-seasoned, light and 

 straight native cane reed, weighing from four to six ounces 

 when complete with guides and tip. The reel was lashed 

 or seized to the butt of the rod, the reel-plate having 

 holes in the ends for this purpose, as may be seen in 

 some of the illustrations following. The line was that 

 known as " sea-grass," though really raw silk, and the 

 size the smallest made, or No. 1. It will be seen from 

 this that the tools and tackle were as light, if not so 

 suitable or elegant, as those of the present day. 



Mr. J. L. Sage, of Lexington, Ky., a veteran angler, 

 who is still making " Kentucky reels," presented me with 

 a click reel, and showed me his fly-rod and flies, all made 

 and used by him as long ago as 1848; so that fly-fishing 

 for black bass was practiced as early in Kentucky as in 

 any other section of the country. 



At a very much earlier day, about 1810, there existed 

 the Bourbon County Angling Club, of which George Sny- 

 der, of Paris, Ky., was the president; 

 and he it was who made the first " Ken- 

 tucky reel," which has since become so 

 famous, and in my opinion the first mul- 

 tiplying reel in the world. Previous to 

 this time the black-bass angler was com- •^ 

 pelled to use the old single-action reel, ^le. 13. 



usually of English make, or the dis- oid wooden spool, 

 carded spool from his wife's work-basket, when of large 

 size, and mounted on a frame by the local tinsmith. 



Fig. 13. — Black wooden spool mounted on iron frame. Disk, 

 1% inches diameter ; 1% inches between disks ; flat iron crank with 

 black wooden handle ; holes in ends of reel-plate for seizing to rod. 



