June, 1922 
FOREST AND STREAM 
259 
One should select a paddle free from 
Jviiot holes. Note the grain. See that it 
does not run crosswise, and is free from 
splinters. You can readily tell bad wood 
from good, by just the looks, and a little 
experience. 
There is the short, broad-bladcd paddle 
— mostly for racing — in two sizes ; me- 
dium and long. Then comes a narrow, 
rectangular-bladed paddle in three sizes: 
long, short and medium. Of course we 
have a double-bladed paddle for the use 
o.f experienced canoers ; it is seldom 
used though. Paddle blades vary any- 
where from four inches to twelve in 
width. Lengths from three feet to about 
six. Hence, we can class a paddle only 
as to whether it is wide or narrow, tall 
or short. 
The weights of paddles also differ 
greatly. There is a featherweight paddle, 
a medium, and a heavyweight. Conse- 
quently, no cataloging of weights can 
be made. 
Now that we have the paddles classi- 
fied, let us turn our attention to the size, 
shape and weight. No set rule can be 
stated, but advice, in general, may be 
given. 
A paddle should reach up to the vicin- 
ity of your chin. Too short a paddle 
will not give you much velocity, on the 
contrary, it is the means of your losing 
much motion, because you can not lean 
heavily enough against it. On the other 
hand, an extra long paddle is cumber- 
some, the left arm being stretched to its 
full length, and the result is you cannot 
lean against it as you ought to. 
If you are rather strong, purchase a 
medium wide paddle. But if you like 
to paddle Indian style — that is, not taking 
your paddle from the water — buy a nar- 
row, medium-sized paddle. Extremely 
wide paddles are no good ! 
Weights of paddles should be judged 
according to your strength. If big and 
husky get a heavy paddle, for a light one 
is as throwing a tennis ball after pitch- 
ing a baseball. You do not feel “correct.” 
What you want is something that you 
know is in your hands and that will en- 
able you to exercise }mur abilit}'. 
A frail person, though, should have a 
light paddle. It is no fun paddling sev- 
eral miles with a paddle that feels like 
a tree trunk, and constantly grows heav- 
ier and heavier. 
You will come to the conclusion that 
a paddle as high as your chin, with a 
blade about seven or eight inches wide 
and of manageable weight is the paddle 
for you. 
Here are some rules for preserving a 
paddle : 
1. Never paint a paddle. The paint 
wears off in a brief time and then looks 
weather beaten. Keep it varnished. 
2. Do not forget that a paddle is meant 
to cut water, not hanks or floating trash. 
3. LYe only one kind of paddle. You 
become accustomed to its size, shape and 
weight ; and so do your muscles. Con- 
stantly changing from light to heavy or 
A'ice versa will not secure good results 
and speed. 
4. Use only a water-proof varnish, re- 
painting the paddle with it at least once 
each year. 
5. An expensive paddle of good ma- 
terial far outlasts one of inferior wood 
and cheaper price. It pays in the long 
run. 
Elmer L. Wheeler, New' York. 
DOBBERS 
I PUT on a lively minnow and a float, 
and cast the bait where T thought it 
would do the most good ; sticking my 
rod between a couple of stones, 1 lay 
back in the W'arm sunshine, puffing away 
on my pipe and watched my dohber boh- 
bing away on the little wavelets. Un- 
sportsmanlike? Sure, and who cared! 
Y hat's the use of having ideals, rules 
or principles if one can’t break ’em once 
in a while. 1 was just in the mood for 
dobbering — too lazy, to plug; 1 almost 
hoped I would not get a bitc,_I felt so 
peaceful, so contented, lying back in the 
health-giving sun. Watching the fleecy 
clouds sailing across the blue. I dreamed 
and mused of this and that but I thought 
mostly of my dobber dancing away out 
there in the clear water. I got to think- 
ing of the various ones that I had seen, 
used, or heard of and of the many ways 
in which various kinds of floats are used. 
ni bet the first fishing trip you took, 
brother angler, was with a dobber. 
whittled most likely from a nicely dried- 
out piece of soft pine. Do you not recall 
the snnnies, chubs or perch that re- 
warded your first awkward efforts? My 
first fishing experience I remember well, 
because I didn’t get my fish — a big, fat 
sunfish he was. I probably was not out 
of kilts and I sneaked off with my string 
and hent pin down the forbidden lane, 
through the orchard to the more than 
forbidden little lily-covcred pond at the 
foot of the hill. 
I lay at full length on the little bridge 
and watched the big sunfish fanning the 
water in the cool depths. I strung a 
wriggling worm upon the pin and 
dropped him through a crack between 
the mossy logs. monster sunnie gulped 
it and eagerly I yanked — alas, the crack 
was too small and there we were, fish 
on one side and I on the other — he 
flipped off, of course. Stupid? ^’es, cer- 
tainly, hut think back upon some of your 
own camping or fishing mishaps and 
then, too, this was my first experience. 
It seemed to me as I mused away that 
I was always whittling when I was a kid 
andfioats seemed to be the chief article of 
manufacture. 1 remember the long, deli- 
cate ones that we made to indicate tin 
gentle nihbling of chub, shiner nr fat 
killie that we needed for pickerel bait : 
I recall how proud I was of the ones 
that I made of porcupine (mills that a 
hunter gave me. We all know the long, 
tapering one of dry pine fastened to thi’ 
line of the bamboo pole on the shoulder 
of the country boy. We couldn't always 
find nice big corks in the country but 
when we did we hored a hole through 
the centre for the peg or merely slit 
the cork on one side to the middle and 
tied a string around its waist to keep 
from losing it if the line pulled out. 
Sometimes we’d get real ambitious dur- 
ing the long winter evenings and try t" 
shape and paint the corks to fimk like 
the store-kept articles, but the old spi t 
cork was the regular thing. 
(Continued on f'agc 2S3) I 
