940 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[June 15, 1907. 
suddenly when a second point of high tension 
develops near the tip, often parting the line at 
that point, but a rod should not be whipped back 
suddenly and given a line of uniform strength 
if it parts during the rush of the fish it should 
part near the leader. 
It is, therefore, of importance that the line 
be free from knots of any kind at that end. 
If a large swivel is used it is better to pass the 
end of the line about the ring of the swivel two 
or three times, then take a turn and a hitch 
about the twisted shank just below ring. By so 
doing the strain comes on the large, smooth 
wire of the ring and there is no cutting of line 
against line. In test this method of making line 
fast has shown up well, the line parting quite as 
often some distance from the swivel as at the 
ring, and in each case exhibiting normal 
strength. The careless habit of doubling line, 
passing loop through ring, then swivel through 
loop, then drawing line taut, so that end ot 
loop encircles line, will lose many a fish. The 
line is almost certain to cut through during a 
sharp fight. . , 
Whether a knot 50 yards from leader is a 
source of danger is a question. For two reasons 
I have been in the habit of carrying 300 yards 
on the spool throughout the season, tying on 50 
yards of new line with a single fisherman’s 
knot whenever the trolling length showed wear 
and tear. I have never had the line part at this 
knot, though I have had it part hundreds of 
times at or within fifty feet of the leader. 
There are those who are prejudiced against 
knots and who even go so far as to turn their 
lines after short usage and discard them early. 
While the fresh-water bait-caster must turn his 
silk line after two or three days’ work, and dis¬ 
card it at the end of the week, or much sooner, 
I find the linen line in salt-water work will stand 
very different usage. If fishing day after day, 
or every other day, I do not dry the line, but 
leave it wet and hard on the spool. It seems 
to me a linen line loses some of its life every 
time it is dried, and while it is necessary to 
dry it if one does not intend to fish again for 
some days or weeks, the less it is exposed to 
sun and air the better. 
Furthermore, a good line will stand a great 
deal of wear and tear before it shows loss of 
strength. The trolling end gives out, but I have 
used a 900-yard length six months, some of the 
time day in and day out, and found it ap¬ 
parently as sound and strong the following sea¬ 
son as when new; in fact, it is the new line a 
man must be wary of. I hate to part with an 
old line, and invariably open a season with the 
lines that are on my reels, first testing twenty or 
thirty feet of each. 
The wear and tear on the trolling end is not 
so much from working the fish, though that is 
a material factor, as it is from the twisting and 
untwisting by the action of the bait. Unless a 
man keeps an eye on his line, pulling in a foot 
or two of slack from time to time to see what 
is happening, it may be ruined before he knows 
it. A bait which runs true at first may, any 
moment, begin revolving in such a manner that 
the swivel fails to offset the action and the line 
is untwisted, or twisted so hard that a strike 
will part it. 
The best means of keeping a line true is the 
use of a flat sinker. -These sinkers can be given 
a slight propeller twist, if desired, which will 
effectually counteract the action of the most mis¬ 
chievous bait. They can be used alone, or in 
connection with ordinary sinkers. Flying fish, 
when used as bait, are apt to play havoc with 
line unless a flat sinker is used. The drag of 
the bait is so heavy the swivels do not revolve. 
Whether the first rush is a moment of danger 
for the line depends upon the fish. For white 
sea bass the launch moves slowly, often so 
slowly that the bait drags along the bottom. 
Under these conditions the strike and the first 
run are easy. The angler, however inatten¬ 
tive, has ample time to sit up and take notice. 
He is prepared to give the fish its head after 
setting the hook. But when trolling fast for the 
other game fish, especially for tuna which often 
take hold like a shot out of a gun, the line may 
be subjected to a strain beyond its strength be¬ 
fore the angler can lift his thumb from the drag. 
After trolling a long time without a strike 
the thumb gets tired and may clamp down a 
little harder than one thinks with the result 
the line may be parted without so much as a 
turn of the 'spool. Again, many users of light 
tackle dislike while trolling to oppose^ the 
spring of the rod to the drag of the line. I hey 
wish to save the rod, therefore they allow^ the 
rod to point directly back with the line. This 
saves the rod at the risk of the line, for when 
the fish strikes there is no spring or give unless 
the reel is instantly released. It may seem easy 
to thumb the reel so lightly that the line will go 
out immediately, but it is not. If the fish comes 
from behind or strikes from the side, well and 
good, but if, as often happens, the fish is going 
fairly fast in a direction opposite to that of the 
boat, the line is certain to be parted. I have 
lost many a hook in trying to save my rod from 
the work of trolling. The only safe way is to 
hold the rod at a very obtuse angle—with the 
line so it will take the shock of the strike. With 
proper handling the rod will not take a set, 
even though used week after week trolling with 
flying fish. Arthur.Jerome Eddy. 
New England Angling and Anglers. 
Boston June 8. —Editor Forest and Stream: 
Col S P. Colt and Le B. C. Colt, of Bristol, 
R. I.; Mr. Russell Colt, of New York city; 
Judge Le B. B. Colt, and Messrs. Walter Ballou 
and" Edward Barrows, of Providence, are on 
their annual fishing trip to the Colonel’s camps, 
as far back in the Maine woods as it is possible 
to get. The camp comprises about eight build¬ 
ings located on the shore of Kidney Poind in 
the Sourdnahunk region. It takes twenty-four 
hours for the party to' reach its destination after 
leaving the railroad, camping over night on the 
way in. 
The Vermont trout streams are calling a good 
many fishermen to that State this season. Aside 
from the severe weather that has lately prevailed 
most of these trips have been both pleasant and 
successful. Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Clewly and son, 
of Woburn, left for Vermont a few days ago 
for a ten days’ trip. They will go up in the 
mountains and fish a few streams into which a 
line is seldom dropped. 
Speaking of the severe and unusual weather in 
Maine this spring Mr. F. W. Matthews, of Bos¬ 
ton, just returned from a week’s trip to Portage 
Lake, states that he was able to^ stay out on 
the lake only one day out of the four he intended 
to devote to fishing. A hurricane, accompanied 
by a very low temperature, kept him in camp 
most of the time. On the day he was on the 
water he was obliged to wrap his feet in a 
blanket and to wear the heaviest clothing. He 
landed six fine fish, however. Another party 
just returned from Rowe Pond, Maine, experi¬ 
enced one day during which the temperature did 
not rise above 30 degrees. At another time they 
had several snow squalls. Strange to relate the 
cold weather does not seem to injure the fish¬ 
ing in the least, for the catches have been good 
everywhere. 
The Talcott party, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. 
F. H. Talcott, M. H. Merriam and Edward FI. 
Goodnow, all of Lexington, Mass., and Dr. O. 
F. Rogers, of Dorchester, left on June 7 for a 
two weeks’ trip to Pierce Pond, Maine. ^Lasl 
year Mr. Talcott spent a short time at Pierce 
with such excellent results that he determined 
to repeat his visit. His best fish last season was 
a ten-pound landlocked salmon taken with a fly 
on a five-ounce rod. Old reliable Tim Pond 
continues to attract its quota of anglers who 
like a quiet camp where the fishing is good and 
close at hand. Everybody knows of the large 
supply of trout at Tim, but perhaps they are not 
aware of the fact that they are slowly but surely 
averaging up a little more in weight. Mr. and 
Mrs. F. E. Stanley and their son Raymond, of 
Newton, Mass., will leave in a few days for a 
month at this comfortable resort. They are all 
intense in their devotion to fishing and last year 
Mr. Stanley landed a trout weighing 3^ pounds, 
a marvelous sized fish for this water, and the 
heaviest of which there is any record. He be¬ 
lieves there are others of the same kind left and 
will make a hard attempt to beat his own record 
on the trip about to begin. 
Sebago Lake fishing—generally reliable—has 
been poor enough this year. There are never¬ 
theless a large number of anglers who—know¬ 
ing the record of the lake for big salmon—con¬ 
tinue to try their luck, each one hoping that a 
15 or 18 pound fish will come his way. Messrs. 
E. M. Gilmore and Walter Robinson, of Boston, 
(the former well used to salmon and their ways 
from many years’ experiences with heavy fish 
in Dan Hole Pond, N. H.), left for Sebago on 
June 6 to stay ten days. 
Wonderful stories of large catches are drifting 
back from the Square Lake camps in Maine. Dr. 
J. C. French writes t-o a friend that the had the 
pleasure of feasting his eyes on a record col¬ 
lection of salmon, lake trout and squaretails, all 
brought into camp at nearly the same time. He 
mentions seven salmon weighing respectively 
1214, 16, 1D4, 7, 9U>> 5, 3 t /4 pounds; two lake 
trout at 12 and 1354 pounds, and a number of 
squaretails ranging up to 4 pounds. These cer¬ 
tainly must have made quite an imposing array. 
Col. Samuel Decker and Robt. Burlen, of Bos¬ 
ton, companions for many years to Nova Scotia 
and Newfoundland, have just returned from a 
four weeks’ trip to the Clyde River District in 
Nova Scotia. The fishing was only fair and 
both regretted that they did not visit their old 
fishing grounds in Newfoundland rather than to 
go back to a region where they formerly had 
good sport, but which, this year at least, seems 
to have gone decidedly back. Mr. H. A. 
Wheeler, of Hyde Park, returned yesterday from 
his ten day trip to Grand Lake stream. Thirty- 
three salmon made the total of his score, the 
largest weighing a little over four pounds. He 
found fishing on the stream much to his taste 
and says this first trip is only a forerunner of 
others to follow. During his stay two 20-pound 
lake trout were taken by J. B. Hunter and a 
friend. Heckle. 
Anglers’ Club Contests. 
At its last meeting the Anglers’ Club of New 
York made arrangements for the holding of club 
contests during the summer and autumn months. 
Two afternoons each month were named, the 
second and fourth Wednesdays; the hour, 3:30 
o’clock; and the place The Pool, near the West 
One hundredth street entrance. Central Park. 
The first contest occurred June 12, which will 
be mentioned in these columns next week; the 
second will be held June 26. 
The arrangements were left to the tournament 
committee of the club and cannot be given at 
this time; but there will be variety enough to 
suit all members. A handicap fly-casting event, 
rods limited to five ounces, and a handicap event 
for heavy fly-rods, are being arranged. For the 
bait-casters there will be an accuracy event at 
60, 80 and 100 feet; a distance event, and possi¬ 
bly one in which both distance and accuracy 
will be considered. For example, if a contestant 
casts 180 feet and his weight falls six feet from 
the line, he is penalized 6 demerits, or 174 feet. 
Quarter-ounce bait-casting events may also be 
included, and in the contests for the rod pre-■ 
sented by Mr. Cushier, mentioned recently, the 
average of the best five casts with half-ounce 
weights will count. 
Mp. E. H. Myers has offered a silver cup to 
be competed for in the autumn, when more mem¬ 
bers will be in town; Mr. G. M. L. LaBranche has 
donated a cup, and Dr. R. J. Held has offered 
three cups, the conditions under which all shall 
be competed for to be announced shortly. 
The Racine Tournament. 
The programme of the fly- and bait-casting 
tournament, to be held by the Racine Fly-Cast¬ 
ing Club, under the auspices of the National 
Association of Scientific Angling Clubs, in 
Racine, Wis., Aug. 15, 16 and 17 next, reached 
us this week too late for more than this brief 
acknowledgment. It will be reviewed next week. 
The Forest and Stream may be obtained from 
any newsdealer on order. Ask your dealer to 
supply you regularly. 
