March 2, 1907.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
3 J 9 
tackle store and reel your line on. Never wind 
it on anything by hand; you will throw a kink 
into the line at every turn and later there will be 
trouble. If your line should become kinky from 
this or other causes, make one end fast and run 
; the line through the fingers several times, keep¬ 
ing a firm pressure on the line and always work- 
I ing in the same direction. The line, if a soft 
enamel, should be dressed with deer fat each 
time it is used to keep it flexible and to pre¬ 
serve it. It should then be well rubbed down 
with the fingers and polished with a bit of 
j chamois dipped in powdered graphite. T he line 
should always be dressed and polished from the 
front toward the back, so that any loose 
ij strands. cracks in the enamel, etc., will be so- 
filled up as to offer the least resistance when 
running through the guides. If you put graphite 
on your line you are apt to get it on your 
■ clothes in casting, but that is a small matter 
compared to the benefit it is to the line. 
I have omitted the diagrams, illustrations, 
etc., usually shown with such articles, believing 
them of little real value as compared with care¬ 
ful and concise description. With the foregoing 
hints and rules, a good rod, a good line and 
careful practice, the amateur should be able to 
fit himself to enter the game and fight his way 
up, and to him I say: “Come on, we’ll all help 
|i you.” 
Bait-Casting from the Reel. 
This branch of the sport is by far the most 
widespread, and its followers probably out¬ 
number the fly-casters ten to one. Through¬ 
out the West it is as popular and attracts as 
if much attention as baseball and its enthusiastic 
devotees are legion. The East, too, is taking 
up the sport, and its growth has been wonder¬ 
fully rapid in the last two years. New York, 
Chicago, Kalamazoo, Racine, Grand Rapids, 
Kansas City and San Francisco have large and 
rapidly growing clubs devoted to tournament 
casting, while numbers of smaller clubs are 
much in evidence. 
It is to the Westerners we owe the de¬ 
velopment of this sport to its present high 
state of perfection. Throughout the Middle 
West, the home of bait-casting, there are but 
few trout streams, and their bass, pickerel and 
muscallonge are not especially partial to the 
fly. The Westerner was therefore compelled 
to bait fish perforce, and as much of his fish¬ 
ing ground was very weedy lakes and streams, 
he was obliged to find a way to cast straight 
and true. The old style side cast, made by a 
sweeping motion of the arm and rod at ap¬ 
proximately a right angle to the body, was 
found to be too uncertain and inaccurate—it 
also required a longer rod and more casting 
room than was often convenient. So the West¬ 
erner, always progressive, put on his “think¬ 
ing cap” and evolved the short rod and the 
overhead 'cast. As this cast is the only one 
now recognized in tournament casting, we will 
deal with it alone. • 
Proper Rods. 
The best rods for tournament work are 
without question those made in one piece, al¬ 
though many prefer the jointed rods on ac- 
| count of their greater handiness. While one- 
i piece rods are admittedly awkward to carry 
from place to place they more than make up 
for this by their beautiful casting qualities and 
’ perfect action. Split bamboo is the only ma¬ 
terial worth considering, although wooden 
rods will give a good account of themselves 
if properly made and handled, but nothing else 
known as a material for rods can compare with 
bamboo for speed, strength and resiliency, to 
say nothing of lightness. The proper length 
I of the rod is still a much discussed question, 
those in use by experts of the East and West 
running all the way from 6(4 down to less than 
4 feet long. Probably the standard length will 
work out somewhere from 5 to 5 (4 feet. 
The handles are generally made in inde¬ 
pendent fashion—that is, separate from the 
rod-—and are to be met with in all manner of 
shapes, sizes and patterns, according to in¬ 
dividual fancy. My favorite handle, the result 
\ of much experimenting, is of the large grasp 
pattern, which does not cramp the hand. The 
hand-grasp is of sumach wood, 1% inches in 
diameter, and the forward grasp is of cork. 
Many do not care for the forward grasp, but it 
is a great help and convenience when reeling 
in the line. The reel-seat is sunk into the 
handle, so that the upper edge or shoulder of 
the hand-grasp affords a perfect finger hold. 
It is fitted with a locking reel-band, which is 
worth its weight in gold, for by a few turns of 
the band I can lock the reel to the rod in such 
manner that it cannot possibly work loose. I 
must admit that the proper length is still un¬ 
settled to my own satisfaction, but my present 
choice is a one-piece split-bamboo measuring 
5(4 feet over all and weighing, without the 
handle, 3 ounces. 
The guides should be of agate or steel, to 
insure wear, as German silver guides are soon 
cut by the line and worn into ridges. There 
has been much talk among casters for years 
concerning the style of guide affording the 
least friction, and they are still at it. Per¬ 
sonally, I consider that the amount of friction 
developed by a line passing through a guide is 
too infinitesimal to consider. Where there is 
friction, is in a wet line dragging along the 
length of the rod, and for this reason the 
guides should be set up high on the rod and 
the tip-top should be offset. 
Bait-casting, as conducted at practically all 
tournaments, is for both distance and ac¬ 
curacy, with half and quarter-ounce weights. 
Generally speaking, the rods used for the half¬ 
ounce events are fairly short and stiff. They 
should have a quick, snappy action, and be so 
balanced that when whipped sharply they wiil 
spring back instantly and stay there. By this 
I mean that at the finish of the casting move¬ 
ment the tip should not waver and vibrate, as 
this seriously impedes the true out-running of 
the line. My idea of the perfect rod is one 
that will play all its length evenly, and which 
has the drive or casting action at or near the 
junction of the rod and handle. 
In this rod the tip is heavier in proportion 
to the butt than the usual pattern, and it has 
two very distinct advantages. As the whole 
rod springs into action at the cast, more 
power is applied with less “elbow grease” than 
with any other form, and at the finish of the 
casting movement, it springs back instantly 
and remains rigid, allowing the line to run 
out true and steadily. 
For the quarter-ounce and accuracy events 
the rod should be a little longer and more 
pliable, for there, on account of the lighter 
weight of the lure, the caster must depend 
more upon the spring of the rod. With the 
longer rod it is also easier to get a “line” on 
the target in accuracy casting and to control 
the cast. Distance casting is a tremendous 
strain upon the rod, and it behooves one to get 
the best to be had. Dealers who make a 
specialty of catering to the wants and needs 
of tournament casters usually carry a line of 
rods made especially for the purpose, and it is 
but natural to suppose they far outclass the 
ordinary pattern of fishing rod in speed and 
casting power. Lou S. Darling. 
An Ideal Mountain Stream. 
Plainfield, N. J., Feh. 16.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: Some of my brother sportsmen com¬ 
plain that in the various stories which appear 
from time to time relating to hunting and fish¬ 
ing the localities are not mentioned. Of course, 
we know that sportsmen as a rule are rather 
reticent as to where the best sport is obtainable, 
for it takes time and patience to locate these 
places, and when once found, they can hardly 
be blamed for feeling a certain sense of pro¬ 
prietorship. However, I will break the un¬ 
written rule and mention a stream comparative¬ 
ly easy of access where the black bass are to 
be found, although only the large-mouth species. 
It is in the notch in the mountain directly back 
of Scotch Plains, New Jersey. 
This is an ideal spot to spend a few hours 
with one’s rod away from business and the 
noise and bustle of the city. On either side 
of the winding stream the mountain slopes 
away, guarded here and there by huge, moss- 
covered rocks, silent sentinels of the passage 
of time. As you proceed through the notch the 
only sounds heard will be the songs of birds 
welcoming you to their mountain home, the 
hoarse croak of a frog, the barking of squirrels 
and perhaps the rustling of a snake as he 
scurries for his hole; a pleasant picture, don't 
you think?—at least for all lovers of nature. 
While there are plenty of bass, they are very 
difficult to capture, as the water averages 
scarcely three feet in depth, and like most 
mountain streams is very clear. To approach 
within casting distance without being seen by 
our wily friend requires all the cunning of an 
Indian. 
Let me tell you of an experience I had one 
day last summer. Knowing about where I 
might expect to locate my quarry, you may be 
sure I approached the bank with extreme cau¬ 
tion. Peering from behind a large bush, I saw 
three as pretty bass as ever gladdened the heart 
of a fisherman. Placing a nice, lively shiner 
on the hook, I very carefully lowered it into 
the water, trusting to the current to carry it 
out. Little by little I let my line run until the 
bait was within striking distance, when suddenly 
with a splash and a fierce tug it was seized. 
No need of longer concealment now! One was 
fairly hooked and it was up to me to bring him 
to the net. It was the same old story of a 
gamy fight; you all know it by heart—up the 
stream and then down, out of the water and 
then to the bottom, until, exhausted, the net 
finally finished the battle. 
Thinking that fair sport for a beginning. I 
followed the stream up a short distance to 
where a natural dam perhaps twenty feet 01- 
more in height forms at its base a large, deep 
pool. Adjusting a float, I made a cast; prettily 
the little red-topped cork bobbed around in the 
foam, until suddenly, down it went, and up 
came the answering thrill through line and 
along rod to my arm—a sensation which the 
true fisherman alone can appreciate, and one 
which he will trudge miles to experience. This 
may sound silly, yet some of the best known 
men in the world, statesmen and scholars alike, 
are indefatigable seekers after this selfsame ex¬ 
perience. After a pleasing tussle the fish lies 
panting on the bank. As I am gathering my 
traps a noisy kingfisher sails by on the same 
quest as I, and probably before the day is over 
will kill five to my one. Our Government 
very generously stocks our streams with game 
fish and then very wisely (?) enacts laws pro¬ 
tecting one of their worst enemies. Why? is 
past finding out, unless we are foolish enough 
to send men to our Legislatures of whom 
probably one-half could not tell the difference 
between a kingfisher and a snipe. 
Retracing my steps, I follow the stream out¬ 
side of the mountain where some excellent dace 
fishing is to be had. The average probably 
nine inches and you cast for them as you would 
trout, though as bait, our old friend, the night- 
walker, is preferable to the fly. Choosing a spot 
where the water is covered with foam as it 
dashes over the rocks, I make a cast; almost 
before the bait is lost to view in the swirl, it 
is seized with a vicious snap, and brother dace 
is gamely fightingdor his life, but. unfortunately 
for him, without success, as the lid of the creel 
soon closes over him. And so across fields and 
through the woods the sport continues until 1 
have a dozen or so. 
Now, my friends, you know the locality, tne 
fish are there, and it remains for you to get 
your share. When the wintry winds have 
ceased and Mother Nature awakens once more 
to welcome the birds and wild flowers, perhaps 
it may be my good fortune to meet some of 
my readers along the banks of this most delight¬ 
ful mountain stream, when with well-filled creels 
and our rods as the only necessary introduction, 
we can exchange some pleasing fishing ex¬ 
periences of the past. Clarence E. Bond. 
Feb. a.—Editor Forest and Stream: Inclosed is money 
order of $3, which please place to my credit for one 
copy • of our weekly friend for 1907, and oblige. '1 he 
Forest and Stream is unequalled by any other journal 
of its kind in our country. J. \V. Greenfield. 
