May, 1920 
FOREST AND STREAM 
253 
may leak, so ■watch where it occurs and 
caulk with hemp or cotton dipped in 
paint. 
Sit up boys, spread your chest muscles, 
this is the day of the joy of the open, 
drink deep of its wholesome freshness, 
your river and lake have many an ad- 
venture for you. Seek them this summer. 
H. M. Magie, Va. 
WINDING FISH-RODS 
S TART winding as in Fig. 1 and wind 
to the left over loose end A until 
about half required width of winding is 
completed. Turn end A back over wind- 
ing already made, forming loop Fig. 2 
and proceed as before. When required 
width is completed run end of silk 
B 
HOOK CARD 
T O keep my hooks together and in good 
condition while not in use I made a 
card to hold them. First I cut a piece 
of cardboard a little longer than the 
longest hook, and of convenient width. 
At one end I cut slits % inch long and % 
inch apart. Next I placed the gut of 
one of the hooks in one of the slits and 
pulled it until the loop caught in the 
slit; then lay the hook flat on the card 
as far up as the gut would allow it to 
go and made a mark at the TOP of the 
hook. Next I made a % inch cut UP 
from this mark. Do the same with each 
hook. Put the hook through the upper 
cut and by bending the card slightly 
draw the gut through the slit. When 
the car is straightened, the loop will be 
pulled up to the end of the slit and catch. 
To protect the points on the back side 
cut a piece of cardboard of the same 
width as before but 1 inch shorter, and 
% of an inch from the end make a neat 
crease. Glue to the back of the first 
card as shown in the drawing, and put 
a rubber band around the top. 
F. T. C., Jr. 
FIG - 1 A 
ru 
B 
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A 
FIG-2 ^ 
If 0 
L» 
a n 
fig- 3 difi 
1 ’ u 
B 
\ 
FIG ”4* 'J 
ilia’ D 
,A 
11 
1 ^ZD 
'Nb 
FIG-6 
m. o 
through loop as in Fig. 3 and draw on 
end A, pulling end B under winding 
forming loop Fig. 4. Insert a pin or 
needle in end of this loop where it shows 
through winding as in Fig. 4. Draw 
end B through and pull tight, Fig. 5. 
Trim off ends close to winding and apply 
spar varnish and you will have a wind- 
ing with loose ends in center and no 
knots, Fig. 6, and a winding that is on to 
stay. 
H. B. W., New York. 
THE OLD FISH BASKET 
A LL of us, who fish, have a fish basket 
or creel; and most of us, who have 
fished any length of time, possess a 
specimen in rather a dilapidated condi- 
tion. The hinges may be broken, the top 
of the cover loose — where it is attached 
to the basket proper, — the loop for fas- 
tening down the cover, and the hasp with 
it, broken or gone, — and, to sum all, the 
whole contrivance reeks with the sub- 
limated odor of the innumerable fish that 
have reposed in it. Of course, the bas- 
ket may have been washed out from 
time to time in the running stream; but 
a more potent liquid is necessary to se- 
cure entire denaturing. 
Ordinarily, the angler throws away 
the old basket and buys a new one. But 
I have learned that imported baskets 
of the best split willow are by no means 
a drug in the market, — thanks to the 
activities of the Germans during their 
occupation of Belgium and northern 
France. Also the price of those avail- 
able has materially raised. So it be- 
hooves the angler to look well to his old 
creel. 
First of all should come repairs. If 
merely the hinges of split willow are 
broken, neat repairs may be made with 
heavy braided linen line, of the size used 
in trolling for muscallonge. Work a 
short length of this around the willow 
rod forming the back of the cover, where 
it joins on the basket proper, at each end, 
about half an inch in from each side of 
the basket. Or perhaps the remnants of 
the old hinges will serve as a guide. Pass 
the cord around the willow rod forming 
the top of the basket, where the cover is 
attached. Draw the cord through two or 
three times to secure strength, having 
the windings cross each time between the 
top of the back and the back of the 
cover. Turn the cover up and tie the ends 
of the cord in a secure knot on the under 
side; then cut off as closely as may be 
done without danger of having the knots 
slip. When the cover is put down in its 
usual position, the knots are concealed, 
and the resulting appearance is suffi- 
ciently neat. 
If the loop fastening down the cover 
is broken, it may be durably replaced by 
a japanned wire hair-pin. The two ends 
of this should be thrust down in the cen- 
ter of the top of the front, just where 
HASP. 
the loop will pass up through the little 
hole in the front of the cover, and then 
be twisted around one of the upright 
willow rods which form the frame of the 
basket. The ends so twisted should be 
cut off neatly and fhe twist forced under 
the willow weaving, so that there may be 
no sharp points to injure the hand put 
down carelessly into the basket. A hasp 
of the shape in the drawing, and of the 
proper size to slip through the loop, may 
be fashioned out of any convenient wood 
—ash or hickory being very durable — 
and attached to the basket near the loop 
by a cord or fish line to prevent loss. 
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 266) 
