60 THETARPON 



ing and reels them back again. He waits till he has 

 finished fishing before rinsing and drying his lines, 

 and he says they never break. At the Tuna Club the 

 wet line is reeled off upon a wooden spool after the 

 day's fishing and re-reeled the next day. 



The ''Swastika" brand natural color line, made by 

 the Ashaway Line and Twine Co. of Ashaway, R. I., 

 apparently is the line most favored by Tuna Club mem- 

 bers. I have found it an excellent line for tarpon. 



I wish to add one suggestion. The line must be kept 

 away from all rusted metal. It is the habit of some 

 anglers to secure the hook in the reel in such a w^ay 

 that the hook or the rusty leader can come in contact 

 with the line when the rod is laid aside. This should 

 never be done, for if the rusty hook or leader is allowed 

 to touch the line the rust will corrode and destroy it. 

 Many good lines unexpectedly fail for this reason. 



From careful tests which I have made it is evident 

 that an ordinary overhand knot tied in a line will 

 weaken it to the extent of from 20 to 40%. So beware 

 of knots! 



A good plan to follow in all sea fishing is to rig the 

 line on the rod to be used and experiment on lifting a 

 dead weight from the floor. It will interest one to 

 perceive how little can be lifted within the capacity 

 of the rod. The rod will bend to a dangerous degree in 

 lifting fifteen pounds although the 24-thread line used 

 with it will have a tensile strength of forty-eight 

 pounds or more. The line may be doubled back from 

 the leader for a distance equal to the length of the 

 leader. It is good practice to take from home at least 



