228 
FOREST AND STREAM 
April, 1918 
An Improvised Tip Guide 
N O matter how well equipped one goes 
into the woods or out for a fishing 
trip, it seems that the one thing you need 
is the thing you left behind. That is why a 
fisherman who takes along a good supply 
of ingenuity and commonsense seldom 
needs a lot of store-made paraphernalia to 
go with it—he just picks up the nearest 
thing and turns it into what he needs. That 
is what I did last summer when I broke 
the tip of my rod. It was very near the 
end of a perfect day and the fish were 
biting so well at just that moment that I 
did not want to spare the time to dig out 
the wood from the tip guide and mend 
it as it should be done. I had a large 
safety pin in my pocket which came to 
light when I pulled out my knife. I no¬ 
ticed the loop in one end of the pin and 
decided that it looked considerably like a 
tip guide. It was the work of only a few 
minutes to file through the wires, with the 
back of a knife blade that was probably 
intended for a manicure tool, and a few 
turns of fish line around the tip of the 
rod held the safety pin guide firmly in 
place. I do not believe that the fish I 
caught a few minutes later knew that he 
had been captured -with anything less than 
an agate guide. 
C. H. Johns, Ohio. 
Securing Ends of Winding Silk 
I LIKE to putter with my fishing tackle, 
in fact, my wife says that I am glad 
when things break so that I will have a 
chance to mend them; but I think she said 
that because I raided her work basket for 
red silk to wind my rod. I have used a 
method of fastening the ends of the wind¬ 
ing silk, and have not patented it but am 
passing it on for the good of fellow an¬ 
glers. I take a very fine milliner’s needle, 
as this kind has a long eye which is easy 
to thread. It must be a very fine one, just 
large enough to permit threading with the 
silk you use. Lay it along the rod and be¬ 
gin to wind from the point toward the eye 
of the needle. Of course, you must make 
your first turn at exactly the place where 
you wish to start winding and must have 
the eye of the needle about where you wish 
to stop. Be sure to make a neat job of the 
winding and have every thread close and 
even. When the winding is completed un¬ 
thread the needle and put the end of silk 
which you have been winding through the 
eye. Then pull the needle out very care¬ 
fully and both ends of winding silk are 
entirely under the wrapping and well se¬ 
cured. 
If the winding is very near the tip, it 
may be a trifle loose when the needle is 
pulled out, although if you get the finest 
needle procurable you will have no diffi¬ 
culty with this. In any event, the winding 
can be tightened just as you tighten a roll 
of paper, by twisting in the direction in 
which it is wound until the slack is taken 
up. Then pull the ends until all is close 
and tight. Using very fine silk of the best 
quality makes a very neat winding. Coarser 
silk is easier to wind and keep each turn 
true, but the finer silk looks better and 
more finished. A coat of varnish over the 
winding silk will make it doubly secure, 
although I do not always use it. The pro¬ 
tection which it gives the silk, however, 
makes worth while the extra labor and 
expense. B. Price, Maine. 
One-day Outings in Spring 
I T is a big mistake to think that one can¬ 
not have a bit of outdoors unless he can 
get far away from the city. On the out¬ 
skirts of every city or town are many spots 
that are attractive and easily reached by 
trolley, motorcycle or even “shanks mare.” 
But the most important part of these one- 
day outings is the lunch, and it is much 
better to get away from restaurants and 
road-houses and cook your own meal. O'ut 
like this there is nothing like a warm meal, 
but it is a nuisance to carry things along 
that have to be carried home again. We 
have worked out a series of one-meal out¬ 
ings that are very good. All we carry is 
a small nail, a strand of wire, a pocket 
knife, a collapsible drinking cup and two 
spoons. Here are three menus which we 
have tested. I —Can of tomatoes, 2 pota¬ 
toes—always boiled at home before we 
start—4 slices of bacon, buttered bread; 
salt and pepper. 2— Can of sweet corn, 2 
potatoes, 3 pork sausages, buttered bread; 
salt and pepper. 3—Can of sauerkraut, 2 
potatoes, three frankfurters, buttered rye 
bread; salt and pepper. Open the can at 
the side and cut out a square piece. This 
must be done carefully. It is best to re¬ 
move a cupful of the contents which can 
be added later when the liquid has boiled 
off. Punch two holes in the can at the 
sides, string in the wire for a handle and 
hang over a tiny fire on a leaning crane. 
It takes four hands to manage this delicate 
proceeding without spilling some of the 
contents. If you are not expert with the 
jack-knife it is best to take a sharp 
can-opener with you. Drop the pota¬ 
toes into the can of tomatoes and let 
them warm. Then flatten out the square 
piece of tin and nail it to the end 
of a stick. This makes a little frying pan 
on which the bacon and sausages can be 
broiled. One big convenience of these 
meals is the fact that there is nothing to 
be carried home again, and the novel way 
of cooking makes a lot of merriment for 
a select party of two. Gipsying is a lot , 
of fun; just try it. 
Frogging is a lot of fun and on tramps ; 
into the country frogs are often found. A 
treble frog hook can be tucked into the 
pocket if it is protected in the manner j 
shown. 'A hole is bored through a large , 
cork, the six feet of line is pulled through 
the hole and the end of hooks also, until 
the points are imbedded in the cork. Then 
wrap the line around cork and over hooks. 
This keeps them in place for instant use. 
And frogs’ legs, skinned, rolled in meal 
and crumbs and fried in butter are a dainty 
dish. The best way to kill the frog is to 
grasp his hind legs and lay him on his back 
on a rock. Then with a heavy implement 
such as the handle of a pocket knife, held 
by the blade, strike it a hard blow on the 
throat. It will be instantly killed. 
