817 
Oct. 14, 1905] 
Fishing Tackle Shop Talk. 
Lloyd J. Tooley's great casting with half-ounce weight 
.-at the tournament held recently in Chicago has proved 
what the writer long ago claimed in these columns—* 
that guides and tops on fishing rods are often so largd 
that instead of being an advantage they are a positive | 
detriment to long-distance casting. The writer, after a 
great deal of experimenting, has arrived at the con- 
clusion that a rod should have four guides, if 6 feet, 
long, and three guides if 5^/2 feet, long or less, the 
minimum length being 5 feet; and that both the guides 
and the top should be 5-16 inch caliber — no more and 
no less. This conclusion is based on the following ar- 
rangement of guides and top: An agate first guide, 
preferably .25 inches from the reel and not less than 20 
inches; the guide raised well off the rod; German silver 
single-ring guides, the ring quite thick and of per- 
fectly round wire, raised in the same manner as the 
agate guide and equally strong; and an agate top held 
by t\vo wires, ending in a taper tube, with the agate 
offset enough to insure the free running of the Tine 
through guides and top without touching the tip during 
delivery. This for casting with half-ounce rubber frogs 
or weights under tournament conditions. 
Now let us see what Mr. Tooley used in his great 
work, making the best single cast on record, 194 feet 
8 inches, and averaging 176^00 feet in five consecutive 
casts on the grass, he standing on the ground level. 
His rod is 4 feet 10 inches long, made in two pieces, 
consisting of a 16-inch butt fitted with a double hand- d’ 
grasp and the Kalamazoo style finger trigger or hook," 
so placed that it would fit the second finger of the 
right hand; and a tip 42 inches long, the material of the 
rod being split-bamboo, six-strip. This rod is equip- 
ped with three agate guides and an agate top. The 
first guide is ^-inch caliber and is % inch above thS' 
raised rod; the second guide has a caliber of 3-16 inch 
and is raised 5-16 inch; the third guide, caliber % inch, 
is raised %. inch; the top, caliber % inch, is raised % 
inch above the plane of the tip. 
While the writer’s deductions and those of Mr. Tooley 
do not agree, both prove, if anything, that the immense 
guides seen on many of the so-called Kalamazoo style 
casting rods are not necessary for long distance bait- 
casting, while Mr. Tooley’s high scores in the Kala- 
mazoo delicacy and accuracy events seem to show that 
his rod is equally adapted to fine and long-range work. 
But the writer’s conclusions were based on the use of 
metal guides, only the first guide and top being agate, 
whereas Mr. Tooley employs agate exclusively. In 
this there is an immense advantage, since smaller guides 
can safely be used; but the writer proceeded on the 
theory that very few anglers care to expend from $5 
to $10 on guides and tops alone, when by using agate 
first guide and top they can reduce the wear on the 
line materially. For everything but tournament use 
such guides are good enough. It seems, therefore, that 
5-16 inch is the proper caliber for such fittings, for if 
the caliber is decreased toward the top there is too 
much danger of the line sticking to the metal guides 
and the top. Nothing, apparently can be gained by 
going above this caliber, Mr. Tooley claiming the re- 
verse applies; and the writer has indeed found this to 
be true with reference to large metal guides, his ex- 
periments including a great deal of casting with a rod 
4 feet 11% inches in length, and others of 5, SF2, 6 and 6 
feet 2 inches. 
Before going further, it should be said that the reel 
used by, Mr. Tooley was not specially made for tourna- 
ment use, but was taken from the manufacturer’s regu- 
lar stock, was used by him in all his recent fishing, and 
sells at a popular price at tackle stores throughout the 
country. The spool is long, as it should be for long- 
distance casting, and to be under perfect control. 
The writer regrets that he does not know what line 
was used, but without doubt it was H size, and of hard 
braided silk, since it is claimed by many experts that 
they can do better casting with this size than with the 
regular tournament lines, and this seems to apply where 
one casts on the grass and the line is always dry. It 
also applies to very hard lines used in casting on the 
water; but an H line that will swell when thoroughly 
soaked is not so good as the tournament size. If one 
could spool the line evenly the smallest size would be 
superior without doubt; but one cannot do this with a 
quadruple multiplier without devoting a great deal of 
time to it, and the consequence is that wherever there 
is an opening between the coils the line will 'be pulled 
under, and this alone causes overrunning very often, 
particularly with fine lines. Too much cannot b'e said 
in relation to the proper line for certain casting, and 
one who wishes to do good practice work with the 
modern rod and free reel may blame either Qyie_ of 
these when the fault is properly found in the line. 
Therefore, the line must be of the best. The reel will 
give good service, if it is mechanically perfect, whether 
it cost $5 or $50'; and if the rod is of the right sort' 
■ and the guides adapted to the ’ work, then the caster 
must lay failures to personal errors. One may cast for 
an hour a,t some mark without getting a backlash; but if 
he will make five casts for accuracy at each of four 
marks placed 50, 60, 70 , and §0 feet distant, then five 
casts for distance, he will find that a single backlash will 
cut down his score badly, and it is jiist such practice as 
this which shows how thoroughly he is prepared to 
risk twenty-five casts and not spoil the total by a fluke. 
He will find it discouraging; should he go into a tour- 
nament to make good scores at 50, 60, and 70 feet, then 
fall down and have some twenty or thirty points demerit 
tacked on his score as a penalty for losing control of 
the reel. 
It may be argued that tournament and fis||tng con- 
ditions differ, and that there is no real advantage in 
casting 40 or 50 yards in fishing. While it is true that, 
one does not always find it an advantage to cast long 
distances, the practice one obtains with the tournament 
rod (enables him to master his tackle in fishing, whether 
he casts 10 yards or 50, and this practipe is invaluable 
to any angler. Then there are times without number 
when one finds it an advantage to cast very long dis- 
tances, and one who can do this will never regret the 
possession of the skill. At the same time casting prac- 
tice should include delicacy and -accurapy, a§ well 4s ^ 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
distance, since one does not often have occasion to 
merely comb the widest possible portion of fish water 
by dong casts when well directed casts, be they long or 
•short, will prove more fruitful in the long run. 
While one can use a short tournament rod for both 
casting and trolling with success, the longer rod re- 
quires more skill, and is the more sportsmanlike with- 
•out doubt; but it would be difficult to find a more sat- 
isfactory weapon than the little light rods that come 
under the modern term “short bait-casting rods.” A 
6-punce rod 6 feet long or a trifle more, nicely bal- 
anced and not thicker than 15-32 inch at the winding 
check, seems to the writer to be well within the 
■present-day trend toward lighter weapons for sport 
in forest and stream; and if the fish is given a fair 
chance to escape and not yanked up to the boat in the 
'shortest possible time, the angler will enjoy the sport 
fully as much as he formerly did with 9 or lo-foot rods 
of much greater weight. The little 60 and 80 yard free 
reels lack great power. They are not to be regarded 
as winches with which to haul heavy fish out of the 'wet 
in the twinkling of an eye, nor are the short rods in- 
tended to be used as derricks, although they are some- 
what stiffer than longer rods of the old days,- Em- 
ployed properly, however, one can enjoy the best of 
.sport with them, and it may be a long time e'fe they 
lose popularity. 
Some* good things are being shown by manufacturers 
and inventors now, at the beginning of the selling 
season for tackle for next year’s use. Among these the 
writer has been shown a line dryer which is no. larger 
..than a business envelope, a trifle more than F2 inch 
thick, weighs, about- 7 ounces and has no loose parts. 
It was shown that in one minute this device could be 
clamped on the rod, the hook, with sinker, cork or 
what not; in fact, attached to an eye made for the pur- 
pose,' the line caught over two arms and the winding 
begun- Sixty yards of line can be wound on it singly, 
or T20 yards if double. The rod may be put away in 
the tent while the line dries, and in this shape the 
hooks are held securely to the dryer. In the morning 
the rod is taken out, the line reeled off the dryer and 
the latter detached,- all without interfering with any 
attachments on line or rod. A simple arrangement pre- 
, vents the line from twisting while it is being wound on 
the device. 
Another device that is being perfected, but which I 
am not at liberty to describe at present, is intended, to 
prevent the line on the reel from overrunning. It is a 
very simple but positively effective device, and if put on 
the market will save the beginner a lot of trouble, since 
he can use it with a free-running multiplier, yet all 
backlashing is prevented. 
- E. J. Mills, who cast 120 feet with the fly at Chicago, 
has show’ll me a couple of the weights used in the bait ■ 
casting events there. With them a good many anglers 
may already be familiar, but for the benefit of those 
v/ho are not, it may be said the j4-ounce weight is 
made of hardwood with a brass eye at the rear end 
and a section of lead at the nose, this held in place -with 
a round-head Steel screw. The length over all is a 
trifle, more than 2 inches, and the diameter perhaps 
inch." The device is in the form of a rather thick, short 
cigar, or, more properly, a torpedo. The “bow end” 
has just enough lead to carry the weight smoothly 
throiigh the air. The J^-ounce weight is _ very little 
smaller, but of the same form and construction. 
- Compared with the soft rubber frogs used in the 
tournaments at Madison Square Garden, an expert bait- 
caster ought to double the length of his casts, using 
these weights. But the frogs will not hurt spectators 
in the event of a line breaking during _a_ cast, whereas 
one .of the weights might cause severe injury, and such 
as these will hardly be likely to find favor here. Be- 
sides, it requires skill of no mean order to cast a rub- 
ber frog 143 feet 8 inches, as R. C. Leonard did last 
spring, at the Garden, where the conditions are more 
trying than obtain outdoors ;. and if any contestant 
:breaks Mr. Leonard’s record, it will be something to 
be proud of. 
r The writer recently had the pleasure of trying a rod 
fitted with guides of a new design — and which, by the 
w’ay, are raised somewhat like Mr. Tooley’s guides, 
referred to above. But they are part of a complete set, 
which wdll include an agate first guide, two or three 
hard metal guides, and an agate top, and are not yet 
perfected, although they seem to be a great improve- 
ment over some of the existing types. 
• Perry D. Frazer. 
The Mississagtia River Country. 
In response to inquiries, Mr. L. O. Armstrong, of 
Montreal, writes of the Mississagua River region: 
The nearest hotel is at Biscotasing. The best map may 
be had of the Crown Lands Department, Toronto; Geo- 
logical Survey Department, Ottawa, Canada. Guides’ ad- 
dresses are: Wm. Harris, Jr., Day Mills, Ont. ; Hud- 
son Bay Company, Biscotasing, Ont.; J. J. Huston, 
Thessalon, Ont.; John Reid, Desbarats, Ont. Mr. Harris 
will contract for parties of not less than three in number, 
to supply canoes, tents, guides (one to each person), pro- 
visions, etc., in fact, everything but blankets and personal 
belongings, for $6 per head per day. The other guides 
generally charge for independent parties $3 per day and 
$2.50 for assistants. The Canadian Pacific Railway has 
the best cedar canvas-covered canoes stored at Biscotas- 
iiig,-' which they sell to sportsmen and tourists at cost 
'price, $40 each, paddles $1.50 each -extra. 
The St. MafgttCfhf. 
Philadelphia, Pa., Oct. 6 .— Editor Forest and Stream: . 
Pn FiDREST AND Stream of Sept. 9 I note that yd-u'r valued - 
. eontHbntor, Mr. Chambers, in summing up the season’s 
salmon fishing refers to certain rivers that proved good 
and other§ poor. Among the latter he includes the Ste. 
Marguerite as giving its fishermen poor sport. If this is 
.- .:the fact, I have in anticipation cause for great rejoicing. 
' W; A. Mahleod, of -Boston, and .myself are now sole own- 
ers of the upper portion of the Southwest branch of this 
river,' having purchased it last spring from "W. D. Winsor. 
of this city. This had previously beep owned by David 
Blanchard, of Poston, and .adjoins 'the waters so long' 
fished by our genial friend, Walter Brackett. Although 
this purchase was not consummated until July, thus losing 
a week or ten days’ of best fishing, I think my record 
there was quite sufficient to satisfy the most exacting 
fisherman. 
I arrived at our camp Wilmac with my son July 5 
commenced fishing on the next day, _ remaining on the 
stream about two weeks. During this time our total 
catch was sixteen salmon, weighing on an average 22)4 
pounds, the largest 36 pounds. Mr. Macleod followed 
me and caught a large number, but the average weight 
was not quite as high. 
Of course Mr. Chambers could not have known' of our 
(to us) good luck, or he could not have iricluded the Ste. 
Marguerite in his list of poor rivers. While there I 
heard there was an unusual run of large fish early in the 
season, and I know the members of the Ste. Marguerite 
Club, who are located on the Northwest branch, had re- 
markable fishing for a few days. 
In writing this I realize that this is not of ' particular 
interest to anyone but ourselves. However, inasmuch_ as 
you asked your readers tO; “report their luck,” I think 
this record is such as to feel proud of, and very hard to 
beat. H. O. Wilbur. 
The Maine Salmon Preserve. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Here is testimony regarding the value of the Dennys 
River, in Maine, which cannot be gainsaid. It is one of 
the five rivers included in Dr. R. T. Morris’ proposed 
segregation for appreciative anglers. The writer, Walter 
Brackett, who has a record and reputation, was on his 
salmon river, the Ste. Marguerite, at the time of writing. 
He was then in his seventy-sixth year. His elder brother, 
Ed. A. Brackett, of Winchester, Mass., who was reap- 
pointed State Fish Commissioner by the Governor last 
fall, is eighty-five years old, and has published two vol- 
umes of original poems and miscellaneous matter within 
the past two years. These are remarkable instances of 
vigorous longevity. Charles Hallock. 
“Saguenay County, Province Quebec, July 28, 1899. — • 
My Dear Friend Hallock; I was much surprised to know 
that you -yv’ere at Dennysville for the season. Pray what 
called you to my old stamping ground, where I . have 
killed as many as fourteen salmon in a short season, but 
not where there were any slabs or sawdust? The place 
wdiere I killed nearly all my fish is about a mile and one- 
half from the village, and a third of a mile above the she 
of an old mill, at the upper end of a long stretch of . still 
water. I also used to- get a few fish both above and below 
the falls near where the bridge on the Machias road 
passes. Mrs. Brackett is very well, as is also my son 
Arthur. As for myself, I am as well as I was thirty 
years ago. Seventy-six the 14th of last month, and able 
to kill a dozen salmon per day, if an opportunity should 
offer. I shall be home by the middle of September, and 
shall hope to see you when you pass through Boston._ 
“With the kindest regard, and wishing you all possible 
blessings, I am, as of old, your sincere friend, 
“Walter M. Brackett.” 
Cannibalism of Bass. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Attempts innumerable have been made to raise black 
bass by the, usual methods employed in raising trout, 
wall-eyed pike, etc., in a fish hatchery, but failure has 
invariably resulted. The idea of propagating bass in a 
hatchery has not yet been given up. As I understand it, 
the method employed is to remove the large fish the mo- 
ment the young fry are able to swim. In this way .the 
diminutive fish are given a chance for their life, and being 
protected until they are of sufficient size to be turned 
loose with safety into a stream or lake. The purposes 
of a fish hatchery are, practically, carried out by this 
method, although the primary details are entirely different 
from those in connection with the hatching of trout. 
The finding of a hundred little bass in the gullet of 
a grown bass, as referred to by Micropterus, leads one 
to believe that the life of a bass fry -v^as anything but one 
long sweet song. _ , 
When one considers the cannibalistic tendencies of bass, 
and trout for that matter, it is a wonder that we have any 
trout or bass fishing at all. Yet, on the other hand, if 
it were not for just these tendencies and practices on the 
part of our game fishes, it would be a case of going into 
a stream when you wanted trout or bass and throwing 
them out with a pitchfork. Chas. Cristadoro. 
Fishing: Notes, 
Sayre, Pa., Oct. 6. — Susquehanna River fishing condi- 
tions have been far from satisfactory for the greater part 
of the season, and while there have been a few really 
good days of bass and pike fishing, the season for the 
most part has been wliat the market reporter would de- 
scribe as only “fair to middling.” 
F'requent rains have kept the river in an unsatisfactory 
condition except at brief intervals. Oct. 3, on the Che- 
mung River, three men in a boat (magic combination!) 
caught eighteen black bass, the largest of which weighed 
3)-^ pounds, and the smallest 2)4 pounds. This was really 
the finest creel of bass seen on the streets of Sayre this 
season. 
As a matter of fact, local anglers tell me that the Che- 
mung in this- locality has furnished better fishing than the 
Susquehanna this season, although fortunes may be re- 
trieved on the Susquehanna during the next few weeks, 
if the present run of fine weather continues, for now, of 
all days of the year, yellow bas.s, alias pike-perch, . qjias 
Susquehanna salmon, are biting moat freely, .Above 
Sayre, say from two to six miles, are some delightfully 
pictured waters that yield enormous yellow bass, -whose 
fighting qualities are above reproach and whose strength 
test the strongest tackle. M.' Chill, 
Sttsquehanna Bass Fishing, 
Ow'EGO, N. Y., Oct. 2. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
The fishing for black bass has never been as good in the 
Susquehanna River as it is at present. Large catches are 
universal.. W. L. H, 
