ANGLING. 
p{ other materials usual ■ hooks, floats, 
spare-caps, split shot, bait of different sorts, 
including ground bait, shoe-makers wax, 
twine, silk, a clearing ring, which being 
passed over the rod, when the hook is en- 
tangled, and drawn down the line by a 
strong twine, attached to it for the pur- 
pose, to the hook or below it, if the obstruc- 
tion is caused by weeds, will either free 
the hook or break the line near it, and pre- 
vent its being strained in any other place, 
by pulling the twine with sufficient force. 
A landing net is also useful to land large 
fish ; and a gaff, when fishing for salmon, 
to be used for the same purpose ; which 
instrument consists of a large hook attached 
to the end of a pliable stick ; by passing 
the hook into the nose or gills of the fish, 
it may be easily lifted out of the water, for 
which purpose a landing net is too small. 
A disgorger is also necessary, to put down 
the throat of a fish, when he has gorged 
tlie hook, till you touch it, when on pulling 
the line it will be freed. The disgorger is 
formed by a piece of fiat wood, about six 
inches long, and half an inch wide, forked 
at the ends. To these articles a fish-basket 
should be added, to carry the fish in. 
k ishing rods are made of various lengths, 
according to the sort of fisli they are in- 
tended for ; those for salmon are about 18 
feet long, those for trout 14 or 15 feet, 
those for pike the same as for salmon ; and 
for other fish, either the trout or the sal- 
mon, rods may be used according to their 
size and strength. All rods should be made 
to taper evenly from the buts ; and when 
not formed of pieces of the natural growth, 
which should always consist of ground 
shoots, they should be made of cleft tim- 
ber, as sawed pieces can never be depended 
on. Ash or shikory are best for the lower 
joints, yew for the next, and the extremity 
of the top should always consist of whale- 
bone ; the fewer joints used in the rod the 
jnore equal will be its elasticity in every 
part, some have the joints formed with 
screw ferules, and some with sliding con- 
nections retained by plain ferules; but 
none are better for the elasticity of the 
rod and for security, than simple spliced 
joints, secured by well waxed twine ; some 
recommend those latter joints to be pre- 
viously glued together, before the waxed 
twine is applied, with glue prepared with 
strong lime water ; but it is obvious that 
the wet to which rods are exposed must 
render glue of little use; thick white paint 
or some of the varnish hereafter mentioned, 
would probably cement the pieces together 
more durably. Whatever may be the num- 
ber of permanent joints, the long rods need 
not be made to separate into more than 
three long pieces, and a short top ; and the 
short rods into two pieces, and a short top ; 
the lower joint of trout . rods should be 
bored hollow, to contain a second top ; for 
every, trout rod should have two tops made 
for it ; one very pliable for fly fishing, and 
the other stiffer for bait ; the top not in use 
will be conveniently and safely kept in the 
hollow but. The rod should be furnished 
with rings for the line to pass through, from 
the top to within two feet of the reel ; and 
when it is completed, it should be well 
varnished over with a varnish formed by 
boiling a little scraped Indian rubber, or 
coutchouc, in half a pint of drying linseed 
oil till it dissolves ; the varnish sfiould be 
skimmed, and be used warm. The rod, 
after being varnished, should be laid aside 
till quite dry ; the varnish will then appear 
on it, like a fine thin bark, will he very 
durable, and will preserve it from being 
worm eaten, and from other injuries. The 
hollow part of the rod should be rubbed 
inside with linseed oil, three or four times 
each year, which may be done by a rag 
dipped in the oil, and tied to the end of a 
stick. 
Hair lines should be long, round, clear, 
and free from knots, frets, or scales. For 
fly fishing, a line should be prepared from 
nine to twelve yards long, gradually tapering 
to the extremity. It is formed of a number 
of links of hair, twisted first, and then 
knotted to each other. The four lowest 
links consist of three hairs each, with the 
weak tops cut off all of a length; the next 
four links have four hairs each ; the third 
four links five hairs ; and so on till the line 
is completed. The links are to be knotted 
together with the fisherman’s, or water-knot ; 
the short ends of the hairs are to be cut off 
pretty close to the knots, and the knots to 
be whipped over with well-waxed silk, A 
loop should he made at each end of this line : 
the upper loop to fasten it to the end of the" 
running line at tin; top of the rod, and the 
lower loop to fasten the lower links to, 
which should never consist of more than two 
or three, of either gut or hair, for fly or 
bottom Ashing, 
The best colours for lines are pale bluish, 
green, or watery grey, and light bay, 
Running hair lines, or those all of one 
thickness, are made on engines prepared 
and sold at the fishing-tackle shops. They 
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