94 
THE PISHING GAZETTE 
[Febrtjart 11, 1893 
THE AMERICAN METHOD OF CAST¬ 
ING FROM THE METAL MULTI¬ 
PLIER REEL. 
[This interesting account of a method of casting 
not used in this country is from “The Book of 
the Black Bass,” by T)r. James A. Henshall, who 
has charge of the Angling Department of the 
(.hicago World’s Fair.”— Ed. F. G J 
["'SSing the cast for the minnow, the reel 
must be placed underneath the rod, on a line with 
the guides. Many anglers use the reel on top, 
but this is essentially wrong. The weight of the 
reel naturally takes it under the rod, where it 
balances better and enables the rod to be held 
more steadily; the strain of the line also falls 
iipon the guides, which insures a more perfect 
working of the rod. Both click and multiplying 
reels should always be used underneath; they 
are intended to be so used, and it will be found 
far the best way when one becomes accustomed to 
this plan. 
The reel, then, being underneath, the line is 
rove through the guides, and a box-swivel tied on 
the end ; to the other ring of the swivel is looped 
the sneL of the hook. The hook is then passed 
through the lower lip of a good-sized minnow— 
from three to four inches long—and out of the 
nostril; or if the minnow is smaller, out at the 
socket of the eye. If the minnow is carefully 
hooked, it will live a comparatively long time. If 
a sinker be required in addition to the swivel, it 
should be placed a foot above it. 
MAKING THE CAST. 
Now reel up the line until the sinker or swivel 
as the case may be, is at the tip of the rod, and 
we are ready to make a cast, which I will now 
endeavour to explain with the aid of the annexed 
diagram and cuts; 
30 deg. with the line of the shoulders X Z, and 
j the minnow, instead of following the direction of 
j the rod, A D, as some might suppose, will, from 
j the slight curve described by the rod during the 
I cast, diverge toward the left, and drop at X, 
: when the thumb should immediately stop the reel 
by an increased pressure. Casting to the right 
is just the reverse of the above proceeding. The 
angler being in the same position, brings the right 
hand across, and touching the body, to a point in 
front of the left hip, the thumb and reel upward, 
but inclining toward the body, and the rod ex¬ 
tending in the direction of the line A D, with the 
tip downward, as shown in Fig. 6 ; he now turns 
his face in the direction of the objective point Z, 
inclines his body and advances his left foot in the 
direction of D, and makes a cast from left to 
right, from below upward, and ends the cast with 
the right arm and rod fully extended in the 
The first cast that the beginner makes will be 
j likely to throw the bait behind him for reasons 
j just given. He should, by all means, begin by 
making short casts, and lengthen them as he 
perfects himself by experience in managing the 
reel and controlling the cast. While but a few 
yards of line can be cast directly in front of the 
beginner, he should practice casting at various 
angles with the line X Z, to the left and right. 
He should avoid overhead casting, for that is the 
pot-fisher’s method of throioing a bait, and is not 
only an awkward, but a very inefficient style of 
casting the minnow, and must not be practised 
except where the reel is dispensed with, as in one 
mode of still-fishing. 
At the beginning of the cast the thumb presses 
firmly upon the spool of the reel, until just before 
the tip of the rod gains its greatest extent or 
elevation, when the pressure is to be slightly 
I 
In the diagram, A represents the angler. We 
are supposed to be looking down upon him from 
above, so that only his hat and rod are visible. 
He is facing B. The angler now wishes to make 
a cast to the left, X being the objective point to 
which he desires to cast the minnow, some twenty 
yards distant. lie grasps the rod immediately 
below the reel with the right hand, with the 
thumb resting lightly but firmly upon the spool, 
to control the rendering of the line; the right 
arm is extended downward, slightly bent, with 
the elbow near tne body, and with the extreme 
butt of the rod nearly touching the right hip ; the 
thumb and reel are upward, inclining slightly 
toward the left; the tip of the rod, or rather the 
minnow, just clears the ground or surface of the 
water ; the position of the rod is now in the 
direction of the line A C, inclining towards the 
ground or water, making an angle of about 30 deg. 
with the line of the shoulders X Z (the inclina¬ 
tion of the rod is shown fully in Fig. 4); this is 
the situation at the beginning of the cast. 
Now for the cast. The angler turns his face 
towards X, the objective point, without turning 
his body; he now inclines his body in the direc¬ 
tion of C, advancing the right foot and bending 
the right knee slightly, and makes a sweeping 
cast from the right to the left, and from below 
upwards across the body diagonally, until the 
rod-hand is at the height of the left shoulder, 
and the arm and rod extended in the direction of 
A D, with the tip of the rod inclining upward, as 
shown in Figure 5. 
The movement of the right hand is almost in a 
straight line from a point near the hips to a point 
near the left shoulder; the motion in casting is 
steady, increasing in swiftness toward the end of 
the cast, and ending with the “ pitching ” of the 
bait instead of a violent jerk—somewhat similar 
to the straight underhand pitching of a base-ball. 
In making the cast, the right elbow should 
touch the body, sweeping across it, and only leave 
it at the end of the cast, making the forearm do 
the work. At the end of the cast, the reel and 
thumb are upward, and the rod forms an angle of 
direction of the line A C, as shown in Fig. 7, 
while the minnow takes its flight toward Z. 
This is a back-handed cast, and is somewhat 
analogous to the pitching of a quoit. 
In making either cast the body should sway 
slightly and simultaneously with the rod arm, in 
the direction of the cast, to add force and steadi¬ 
ness, but on no account must the cast be made by 
“ main strength,” for it requires but slight 
muscular exertion to cast forty yards; and on no 
account must the rod be carried further toward 
the line X Z than an angle of thirty degrees, 
otherwise the bait will be thrown behind the 
angler. Particular care must be taken to give 
the bait an upward impulse as it leaves the rod. 
• The printer queries, should not left be right and 
right be left, but we have carefully followed Dr. 
Ilenshall’s book.—E d. 
I relieved, so as to permit the release of the line, 
and allow the minnow to be projected in the 
direction of the cast. The exact time to lessen 
I the pressure of the thumb and start the minnow 
on its flight is almost a matter of intuition, which 
can hardly be explained; however, the proper 
time IS soon learned by practice, in which event 
the “ wrinkle ” comes to be performed by the 
^3 it were, unconsciously. 
-Lho entire cast must be made so steadily and 
so regularly, and the rod held so firmly at the end 
ot the cast, as to prevent entirely any undue sway- 
i ing or bending of the rod, in order that the line 
^ may follow the direction of the minnow in its 
I flight, smoothly and evenly, and untrarameled 
; and unretarded by any vibratory motions of the 
I T- • ^ I make myself understood here, for 
this isthemostessential.and, at the same time, the 
