THE EISIIING GAZETTE 
[January 7, 1893 
STEEL AS APPLIED TO RODS.— 
ALUMINIUM REELS. 
Sir,—I was very much pleased to see in an 
issue of the Fishing Gazette a sketch of a new 
rod brought out by Messrs. Poster, Ashbourne, 
in which they have utilised the metal in its 
proper place, i.e., at the circumference, not at the 
centre, using the tensional strength of the steel 
rather than its flexibility, and, in consequence, 
using it to the best advantage. I take a great 
interest in metal as applied to rods, having tried, 
some years ago, experiments with tubes of steel, 
both solid, drawn, and rolled; the former are 
difricult to temper evenly when of any length, 
while the latter lack stability, and feel heavy in 
the hand for the power they bring into play. 
My next experiment was with six wires of 
As for reels, why cannot anglers get aluminium 
reels at a moderate price .® Alummium is ((uite 
a cheap metal at present, the wholesale ])rice 
being, delivered in this country, about As. per lb.; 
while gun metal, out of which I take it tiie best 
reels are now made, will be about lOd. per lb. But 
aluminium has about three and a-half times the 
bulk of gun-metal, so that in two reels of equal 
size the cost of metal ought to be about the same. 
I suppose, however, some trade traditions stand 
in the way; but one would have thought some 
young enterprising Arm would have taken up the 
matter by this time. In America they are mak¬ 
ing cycles of an alloy of aluminium and titanium 
at one-half the usual price, so why cannot the 
smaller article, the fishing reel, be made also at a 
corresponding figure? The workmanship w'ould 
1 L 
CorresjJonti^n« 
Il'e do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions 
e.rpressed by our Correspondents.'] 
“One of the charms of angling is that it presents an 
endless field for argument, speculation, and (rperi- 
■ment." —T. E. Pritt. 
A QUERY ABOUT TRAILING. 
De.mi Sir, —Will you kindly give your opinion 
in your next issue as to whether a bye-law pro¬ 
hibiting trailing,” without giving any definition 
of the word trailing, would prohibit a person 
from walking along a river or canal bank and 
dragging in the water with rod and line a bait or 
lure with hooks attached, such person only 
occasionally taking his bait from the water to 
make a fresh start ?—Yours faithfully, 
A. ToWXSUEND COBBOLl). 
Derby Lodge, Ipswich. 
[Unless a bye-law prohibited fishing in this 
way from the bank it would not apply. The 
proposed Thames bye-law refers to dragging or 
trailing a bait behind a boat.— Ed.] 
“THE ROSSES,” DONEGAL. 
Sir, —Your correspondent, “ H. A. P.,” in his 
interesting communication on fishing for sea 
trout in the lochs near Dungloe, kindly men¬ 
tioned that he would be pleased to give any 
further information, if desired. Hence 1 venture 
to seek his advice as to his flies—which are the 
best for those waters. During a late visit, my 
experience was too limited to arrive at any con¬ 
clusions as to the best colours under particular 
circumstances of sky and clouds. As noted by 
“ H. A. P.,” an outing in that wild district is 
most enjoyable, and I may add that Boyle’s 
Hotel (with post and telegraph office on base¬ 
ment), was found satisfactory in all respects.— 
Yours, cfc., _ G. E. S. 
THAMES FISHING REPORTS. 
Dear Sir, —I thank you for inserting my letter 
in your issue of Dec. 2-k “B’s” reply is a 
rambling affair, reaching from Richmond to 
Staines; still he backs up the statement of twenty- 
three dozen roach and dace and twenty brace of 
perch in one week, caught by one fisherman’s 
punts alone. Sorry indeed should I be to doubt 
his honesty of purpose, but did he see these fish ? 
I should say not. There has been scarcely a punt 
out once a week lately, and the other fisherman, 
at Sunbury, has not had one out/or a month; 
notwithstanding this, he has had immense 
catches. 
Did not the “ Anchor and Hope ” compete at 
Sunbury on the 18th with about twenty mem¬ 
bers, and did they not catch amongst them three 
perch, weighing Flh. ? And this was the very week 
ihe reported mighty takes were made, yet there 
must have been some good anglers amongst these 
twenty, to say nothing of another batch of eijual 
numbers who did about the same business. 
All anglers are grateful for correct reports, 
and I feel sure that you, Mr. Editor, do your best 
to obtain them for us, for “fairy tales ” are worse 
than useless—they are misleading.—Yours faith¬ 
fully, W. H. Elsaiore. 
C'astelnau, Barnes, S.W. 
A PROFESSIONAL THAMES FISHERMAN 
ON THE NEW THAMES BYE-LAWS. 
Sir, —I hope you will do me the favour of 
allowing me to have a little say respecting the 
proposed alterations in the Fishery Laws. All 
good, practical, and genuine anglers hoped to see 
the size of jack and chub considerably increased, 
•hut no, they seem really to aim their shafts at 
fl'hamcs professionals ; it is nearly time that class 
knew what would be for their benefit. It is pro- 
])Oscd to make fence seasons for eels, and to pi-o- 
hibit the use of a cast net altogether; here I see 
a great hardship to many, to say nothing of 
leaving the eels to increase and multiply to an 
alarming extent. Only those that have set eel 
baskets can have any idea of the carnivorous 
habit of the eel; personally, I use a cast net very 
little, not having had one in my hands but once 
for seven months. I hope Thames professionals 
and all whom it may concern will look out for 
themselves ere it is too late. G. Lujisdex. 
Datchet. 
as tempered cast steel, put through thin washers, 
per section. All the wires strained tight, and either 
wedged or soldered into each of the washers. 
This is all very good in theory, but the thin 
wires are very much exposed in use, and it is 
very difficult to alter the stiffness of such a rod 
as one would with a whole wood rod with plane 
or rasp. 
Another section for a whole steel rod has 
occurred to me, but I haven’t tried it, not having 
any suitable rolling machinery at hand, and that 
is a whole steel rod, with a section something 
like pinion wire, and properly tapered in the 
rolling; such a rod cou'd be corrected by filing a 
little off the ribs. 
I have tried two modified forms of the above— 
viz., first, I took a length of wood, and with a 
very thin and small circular saw cut a series of 
grooves radically into its substance, as per sketch. 
Into each of these was cemented a thin strip of 
sheet steel of same gauge as the saw, the whole 
affair being filed flush, sandpapered, tied at 
intervals, and varnished : the result being a con¬ 
siderable increase in strength with little addition 
to the weight. The next experiment was with 
wire. Six grooves were cut on the rod joint to a 
depth not quite equal to the wire, which was 
tempered cast steel. The wire was cemented into 
these grooves and bound, like a cane rod, with 
silk. The wire gave extra strength to the wood 
with little extra weight. 
This latter plan seems to me to be an easy way 
of strengthening a too supple rod at little ex¬ 
pense or labour, and I must say that I prefer it 
to the plan of Messrs. Foster, as it is much more 
simple, and, I should say, far moi'e lasting. In 
Messrs. Foster’s plan the wire is looped round 
the rod, so that each time the rod bends the 
various loops rub against each other and will 
finally we.ar through. In addition, also, if you 
bend any metal you make it weak, and in this 
case, I am afraid, the eyes of the loops will be 
found to be the weak places in the Foster rod. 
I dare say I have not mentioned anything new 
to most of the readers of the F. G., but if I have, 
I hope it may be of service to them, and help 
them to cast longer lines and break fewer rods. 
The principle I have aimed at is to get the 
stronger material on the outside, where it can 
exert the greatest leverage, and where its powers 
can be used to best advantage by utilising its 
tensile power rather than its resistance to being 
bent. This principle has been fully recognised in 
split cane rods, where the outer, or harder and 
denser skin is carefully preserved, as being the 
chief factor in the remarkable power this class of 
rods, when well made, display; and steel being so 
much stronger, when properly applied, must be 
much superior to wood. If you can replace wood 
fibre by steel fibre or wire, the gain must be 
immense both in power and in reduction of 
weight. You can, moreover, mend or renew a 
steel wire if broken, but it is quite a different 
thing to deal with the outer skin of a split cane rod. 
be the same, and I always thought that was what 
one had chiefly to pay for in a high class reel. 
A Scot. 
[It is unlikely that steel will ever supersede 
wood for fishing rods. This interesting letter 
points out some of the difficulties in the way. 
Two years ago an American steel fly rod was 
given to us ; it is the best we have seen, but far 
from good. It was made of fiat steel, beaten 
round a core into cylinder shape, with the two 
edges touching, but not joined.— Ed.] 
THE THAMES BYE-LAWS AND THE 
CENTRAL ASSOCIATION. 
Sir, —According to a report in a daily paper, a 
committee of the Central Association approved 
the draft of the proposed bye-laws before atten¬ 
tion had been called by the Dress to certain extra¬ 
ordinary and objectionable features in them; 
and that, at a meeting of delegates, the action of 
the committee was approved “ by a very small 
majority.” According to the report, the secretary, 
in addressing the meeting, said he was pleased 
to say that the conservators evidently thought 
that, as a national river, open to the public 
generally, and more especially the London public, 
that the old regulations were sufficient for the 
])urpose. 
The committee of the Central Association evi¬ 
dently, I think, overlooked the intention of the 
Thames Conservators to give to anyone claiming 
private rights above the City Stone the right to 
net, and, be it noticed, withnets of a smaller mesh 
than are now legil. I am afraid the conservators 
care very little for the anglers of London, or any 
other place, and I warn London anglers against 
being gulled by anything which may be said to 
them at any conference between them and the 
board. Men must be judged by their acts, not 
by their words, and however much the conserva¬ 
tors may profes.s, they must be judged by the fact 
that they propose to give a number of persons 
power to net in the upper river, to the certain 
destruction of the fisheries. That fact speaks for 
itself; but it is to be hoped that the conservators 
will bow before the force of public opinion, and 
withdraw the objectionable bye-laws which they 
have had drafted. 
I venture to express a hope that the Central 
Anglers’ Association will, with other London 
anglers, make a firm stand against any encroach¬ 
ments on the rights of the angling public on the 
Upper Thames, and will protest most strongly 
against this or anything which would lead to 
netting. A mistake has been made clearly, but 
it is not too late for the committee of the Central 
Association to reconsider the matter.—I have 
the honour to be, your obedient servant, 
A CoXSERIATOR OE FISHERIES 
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