October, 1922 
453 
TINKERING WITH YOUR TACKLE 
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF SURF RODS 
TO SUIT INDIVIDUAL REQUIREMENTS AND PERSONAL FANCY 
By A. F. WESTERVELT 
I THOROUGHLY enjoy reading the 
opinions of others regarding tackle, 
because, once in a while, I pick up a 
new idea and once in a while I am 
able to confer a favor upon some 
brother angler by passing along a little 
kink that someone has passed along to 
me. For example, I used to use piano 
wire leaders ; they would kink, rust and 
break and I would lose a good fish. 
Some one told be to use braided copper 
wire ; I did. It would kink, fray out 
strand by strand and break. I then saw 
a chap using leaders of phosphor bronze 
wire — better, but 
It seems sometimes we just have to 
whittle at something, and then floats 
naturally suggest themselves. Have you 
ever tried Balsa wood? Light as ’thistle- 
down — probably the very lightest wood 
known. I take considerable pride in the 
result of my labor, too, or my play, 
rather, if what I have made shows a 
good craftsman-like finish. 
Especially do I like to construct my 
own rods, of such weights and lengths 
that suit my build and casting methods. 
I was reading an article not long ago 
that laid down emphatically just what a 
Adjustable 
Ttp- Ends 
still it would af 
times kink and 
break. I lately 
met a fellow who 
had been in the 
air service and he 
gave me a piece of 
aeroplane wire. 
All my troubles 
gone — it wouldn’t 
kink, wouldn’t rust 
and would hold a 
ton. 
Again, I have 
heretofore cast my 
lead sinkers in 
home-made moulds 
constructed of 
plaster of paris — 
rather unsatisfac- 
tory, as the heat 
would crack and 
disintegrate the 
plaster after a bit. 
I was telling a 
friend about this 
trouble and he said, 
“Try ‘Smooth-On’ 
or ‘Mendit.’ I find 
that a very good 
smooth mould may 
be made of it and' 
it can be used for 
all kinds of casting 
— leads, squids, 
etc.” 
Well, I pur- 
chased a can of it 
and mixed it with 
water to a dough- 
1 i k e consistency 
and made my 
mould — -fine ! Did 
not crack, made a 
nice smooth sur- 
face and lasted 
almost as well as 
a regular cast-iron one. “Pooh,” say 
some, “why not buy a regular mould?” 
But you see, I happen to be one of those 
foolish fellows who gets enjoyment out 
of something of his own contriving. I. 
like to make my own tackle and camping 
outfit in-so-far as I can. 
Ordinary 
Ordmary Stirrup 
Offset "Tip End TtpEn.cL 
Butt Exfcn.sion. Type 
li 
Wire in. Dlocl’^ 
Wei^K+cd. witK 1 .oad. 
of Rcst ’or 
Guide Posif'ii^u, ^ 
i 
surf-rod should be. Are there any of 
the great body of surf anglers who 
would agree with that ? Same way in an 
article on hooks some time ago ; some 
narrow-minded chap wanted ’em all 
standardized as to size and shape and 
type, and all but a few styles scrapped. 
By the Great Horn Spoon — xVo ! Let’s 
have more of ’em if anything; all dif- 
ferent, to argue over and to be discussed 
at length — that’s the very breath of life 
to the angler. 
But the article on the surf rod roused 
my ire. Are there two men in a hundred 
who have the same ideas as to surf-rods, 
except in a general way? The chap 
even condemned the use of the single 
guide and wanted to know why the sin- 
gle guide was used by so many anglers, 
making a great to-do as to the set in the 
rod that would develop from the con- 
tinual strain. Not 
to disagree with 
him too strongly, 
I might mention 
that I have used 
one of John Land- 
man’s rods for six 
years and it has 
one guide only, yet 
today the rod is as 
straight as when 
constructed by that 
master craftsman. 
There are several 
types of guides 
used that the 
writer of the ar- 
ticle has evidently 
overlooked (Fig. 
1 ) ; they may be 
reversed or turned 
to the opposite side 
of the rod should 
any evidence of 
permanent bend be 
observed in the tip. 
A reversible tip- 
end and guide will 
take care of any 
trouble in this di- 
rection (Fig. II), 
so one guide is 
thought by many 
to be sufficient. 
Greater distance 
possibly may be 
made, too, due to 
lessened friction. 
One should not 
experience any 
difficulty in the re- 
versible tip end’s 
“freezing,” due to 
the action of the 
salt water, as a lit- 
tle grease, in be- 
' tween the bearing 
surfaces before 
screwing down to the position in which 
one wishes it to be, will keep it free to 
revolve. If there should be a prejudice 
regarding this form of tip, however, a 
regular off-set tip may be used ; it is but 
a minute’s job to reverse it if necessary 
— simply hold a match under the metal 
1^ Pull Thru Kuerf- for 
Finish o-f Winctin^) 
TTo'S. 
