640 
FOREST AND STREAM 
December, 1920 
negotiated. Although, however, the dis- 
tance of the cast is rather small, great 
accuracy may be attained with surprising 
ease after a little practice. 
Casts with the aforementioned rigging 
m.'.y be also executed by oscillating the 
line-head several times back and forth, 
and by delivering the bait at a forward 
oscillation. 
F IVE. In a somewhat modified method 
the tail-end of the line is attached to 
the butt-end of the pole, and the line- 
head, which is longer than the pole, is 
drawn through a guide attached to the 
tip of the pole. Preparatory to a cast 
the line-head is suitably shortened by be- 
ing pulled in through the previously men- 
tioned guide, the line being held in one 
hand. Oscillatory motions are then im- 
parted to the line-head, and at the end 
of a forward oscillation when an ade- 
quate amplitude has been gathered the 
line is released and the lure delivered. 
The length of the casts may be 2 and % 
times longer than the pole. 
S IX. In certain parts of China, lines of 
a length of 100 feet, and occasion- 
ally longer ones, are cast by means of 
poles 10 to 20 feet long. No reels are 
used. The pole and the line are stretched 
out in one straight line under 90 degrees 
to the shore, the butt-end of the pole 
being near the water edge, and as 
far as possible from the shore. The 
sinker, weighing approximately half a 
pound, attached to the end of the line, 
is placed upon a rock or board, and the 
ground cleared from all obstructions to 
prevent fouling of the line. The pole is 
then carefully lifted and held over the 
shoulder similar to a surf-casting rod. 
With a powerful sweep the sinker and 
the tackle are then taken up, flying over 
the head of the operator and hitting the 
water with a great splash. 
An American bait-caster, of course, 
would not be very enthused over the com- 
motion. His Chinese brother angler, 
on the other hand, would be astonished on 
noticing the other’s disappointment at his 
casting. But, it will be understood, the 
yellow fisherman is not a sportsman per 
se; he is not out for fun, he is out for 
fish, and he prefers a ten-pounder to a 
sixpounder, not for the four pounds addi- 
tional fight, but for so much more meat. 
Therefore he has not one or three, hooks 
on his line, but twelve to fifteen; and 
therefore he unties the cast-line from 
his pole and ties thereon a second line 
which he delivers in a similar way some 
twenty-five yards farther, and so on un- 
til he has thirty or more lines in the 
water. Usually he has an assistant who 
attends to the stretching of the lines. 
And when all lines are cast both patrol 
the shore testing here and there whether 
a fish has been caught. 
S EVEN. Higher spirit in sportsman- 
ship has actuated Austrian peasant 
boys who innovated the following rigging 
wh ; ch permits long casts: Stiff bamboo 
poles from which 6 to 8 feet of the slen- 
der tips have been capped are in use; 
the favored length is 16 feet, although 
longer poles may be occasionally ob- 
served. The line, which is nearly three 
times as long as the pole, is drawn 
through a tip guide and the tail-end is 
tied to the pole immediately below the 
guide, which is, as a rule, improvised by 
a roller shade ring, flexibly or stationarily 
mounted, at an angle of 90 degrees to the 
axk of the pole. Thus a loop may be 
formed near the guide. A cord tied with 
the lower end to the butt is flexibly con- 
nected with the aforementioned loop by 
means of a sliding ring upon the line. 
When the line is paid out as far as pos- 
sible the cord is stretched and the loop 
is only two to three inches long. Before 
a cast is performed the rod is placed up- 
right upon the ground and by manipu- 
lating the cord the line-head may be ad- 
justed to a suitable length. The tackle 
is then delivered in a manner similar to 
that specified under paragraph 4, the mo- 
mentum of the lure and sinker drawing 
the reserve part of the line through the 
guide. 
Heavy tackle-ends with sinkers weigh- 
ing up to 12 ounces are of advantage, and 
longer casts may be made in proportion 
to the length of the pole. When fishing 
for Esox lucius, our Northern pike, which 
is common in Europe, attaining there 
large dimensions, live fish-bait weighing 
8 to 10 ounces, without a sinker, consti- 
tutes the tackle weight. For bottom 
fishing metal sinkers are utilized. When 
the lure is light the casting weight is 
made from wood, usually studded with 
nails, so it will just float. It is then 
either tied to the line-end or mounted 
as a sliding float, with a stop on the line 
several feet above the lure. 
E IGHT. In a modification of this rig 
the cord is substituted by a silk or 
cotton-covered rubber, 6 to 8 feet in 
length, tied with one end to the pole, 
about 3 to 4 feet above the butt-end. 
While this kind of tackle does not offer 
advantages, compared with the former 
method, it has great flexibility and allows 
one to play the fish. It therefore re- 
places a reel to some extent. 
N INE. In another modification the 
cord, tied to the butt-end, reaches 
omy to the middle of the rod where it is 
slidably attached to the loop previously 
referred to. The tail-end of the line 
which forms the loop is made of rubber. 
Since the length of the loop is about 
half the length of the rod, the total 
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 660) 
TALES THE RIVER TOLD TO MATT 
THE ELEVENTH INSTALMENT OF A SERIES OF STORIES DEPICTING THE SIM- 
PLE JOY OF FISHING AS EXEMPLIFIED THROUGH THE EYES OF YOUTH 
By LEONARD HUL1T, Associate Editor of Forest and Stream 
I T was the first time that Matt had ever 
seen a raccoon and he was nervous 
with excitement. As it approached 
the crab on the bank both Mr. Adams 
and the boy could see from where they 
sat the battle attitude of the latter as 
with its cruel claws extended it awaited 
the attack of the ’coon which kept slow- 
ly circling itsi intended dinner.* S*o 
quickly had the stroke in the water 
been made that neither Matt nor Mr. 
Adams saw whether the crab had been 
thrown by the jaws of the animal or 
by a swift stroke of its paw. One thing, 
however, was certain: it was well aware 
of the punishing quality of those ex- 
tended nippers as was evidenced by the 
precaution which it exhibited. Here 
was being enacted one of the many daily 
tragedies of nature: the crab battling 
for its life and the ’coon using its cun- 
ning to secure a comfortable meal. So 
it has been from the beginning and so 
it must end; each subject working out 
its own destiny in accordance with the 
immutable laws of the universe which 
to our eyes appear in many instances as 
comedy, but through the lifting of a 
very thin veil tragedy is disclosed. Both 
man and boy sat in perfect silence 
watching the movements of the combat- 
ants. Though there was a vast differ- 
ence in the size of the parties to the 
fray, the ’coon apparently well knew 
that those nippers were capable of in- 
flicting severe wounds, and it was wary. 
Suddenly it sprang forward and seized 
one of the claws in its teeth at the same 
instant giving a violent shake of its 
head which broke the claw loose from 
the body of the crab and it went spin- 
ning several feet away. The rest of 
the proceedings were simple. With but 
one claw the crab’s defense was weak 
and it was soon rendered helpless when 
the ’coon returning to the bank reclined 
at leisure and proceeded to devour its 
prey biting through the hard shell and 
then grinding all to a pulp. It soon 
finished its repast and went down to the 
water’s edge as if seeking more proven- 
der. “Git your gun an’ le’s see what he 
looks like close by,” said the boy, still 
much excited. “No,” returned Mr. 
Adams, “while they are good eating in 
the winter season they are not of much 
account now and the fur is poor; be- 
sides they are likely to have young at 
this period of the year which need their 
care. They are not a destructive ani- 
mal, living mostly on frogs, fish and 
such things and keep close to streams. 
If caught when young they are easily 
