Concluding RemaiIks. 439 



trouble," or they are " too tired/' to perform their bounden 

 duty of drying their lines ; such men are " pot-fishers," and 

 will stand their rods, jointed, up in a corner all night. 

 They are on a par with the " pothunter " who, after a hard 

 day's tramp, permits his dogs to go supperless to bed, and 

 his gun to remain foul until morning. 



Silk lines are especially liable to mildew and rot if put 

 away damp or wet. Even waterproof lines should have a 

 good airing after use, or they will retain more or less damp- 

 ness which in the end will work their destruction. After 

 drying a line it should be rubbed or reeled through a 

 woolen cloth to remove any sand, grit or mildew. The 

 economy of this whole matter is one thing, and its ex- 

 pediency another; the value of a line may be a small 

 affair, but the breaking away of a good fish through a 

 defective line is a serious event. I once knew a good 

 fellow, but a poor angler, who, after a day's fishing, care- 

 fully dried a fifty-cent handkerchief for fear it would mil- 

 dew, while he left a three-dollar line, wet, on a twenty- 

 dollar reel and a thirty-dollar rod, standing in the corner 

 all night, because he was "going a-fishing again in the 

 morning." 



The line should be thoroughly tested at the beginning 

 of the season, along its whole length; and, if not found 

 fully up to the standard, should be discarded. It should 

 also be tested, occasionally, during the season ; in fact, the 

 better way is to test it always before using it. A line that 

 will sustain a dead weight of two pounds is strong enough, 

 if used with a pliant rod, and no other should be used 

 for black bass angling. By examining and testing the 

 line, alwaySj before using it, it may save much mortifica- 

 tion and many a fish. Though you can not lose a fish by 

 the breaking of the line — for as Father Izaak says, "no 



