THE HORSE-HAIR FISH LINE 
How to Make One of the Most Satisfactory 
Lines Ever Used in the Catching of Fish 
By SENECA 
T HE making- of horse¬ 
hair lines and their 
use is not confined to 
the European countries 
solely. Here and there in 
this country you will find 
them in use amongst those 
foreigners who were wont 
to fish with them in the old 
country and who brought 
the art over here, making 
lines for their own use, and 
who cannot be inveigled into using any 
other brand be it linen, cotton or 
silk. I do not know to what extent 
horse-hair lines are used in the 
southern countries of Europe. My in¬ 
quiries have failed to bring forth any 
facts in this line. It would seem that 
the making and use of such lines is re¬ 
stricted to the northern European coun¬ 
tries almost entirely. This is probably 
because more fish obtain in the north, 
hence, too, the seeking for materials for 
lines that will not only stand wear and 
tear through actual fishing but which 
will not be affected by dampness, 
warmth or cold, or by any change in 
the temperature whatsoever. At the 
same time strength of line would be 
in demand. This the horse-hair prod¬ 
ust certainly assures. 
I do not know how long horse-hair 
lines have been in use in the Scan¬ 
dinavian countries, but it is probable 
that it dates back to the primitive or 
near-primitive times. So the art is 
not a new one by a great deal and, 
while it is true that such lines are not 
so greatly in use now, still the old- 
timers on the lakes and streams in 
those countries make use of them. 
In Scotland it will be found that horse 
hairs of considerable strength, selected 
from thoroughbred horses, known for 
their vitality, are used for leaders in 
trout fishing. I have never tried 
horse hairs in single strands tied to¬ 
gether like gut strands, but I should 
imagine that a leader so made would 
stand considerable strain, a strain in 
fact that would amaze one who has 
never thought the matter over or who 
has never tried the peculiar strength 
of horse hairs. There must be some 
great attraction about horse hairs for 
leaders if the Scotch use them in 
preference to gut casts, else they would 
be discarded for the silkworm product. 
Whatever may be the reason, one thing 
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 
The angler in touch with civilization, 
who casts with a modern equipment of 
rod and reel and line of silk, will see 
little to attract him in this line of his 
ancestors. There may, however, come 
times in the wilderness when a knowl¬ 
edge of how to make a serviceable horse¬ 
hair fish line will prove useful. 
IlllllUIDIllilH 
is certain, horse hairs have strength 
and it is this strength that commends 
them for use in twisted lines such 51 s I 
am going to speak of. 
What then are the good points 
scored for the horse-hair line. Under¬ 
stand at the very beginning, that it 
cannot possibly be used as a casting 
line. That is absolutely out of the 
question. It can, however, be used on 
a long pole like any other line; it can 
be used without the pole as a handline 
for trolling or to be fished with in 
still-fishing either through the ice in 
the winter or in the “free” water in 
the summer. It can be made in any 
length that is desired from fifty to 
one hundred feet. It has certain 
elastic qualities that are particularly 
to be taken into consideration for this 
giving out and coming back into place 
is a power all of itself when it comes 
to handling a large fish. To what an 
extent, you will ask, is this elastic 
quality in the line carried out? That 
depends a great deal upon the length 
of the line. The longer the line the 
more spring and extension there is to 
it. Thus, in a sixteen-foot line, there 
is noticeable a pull of three feet; that 
is to say, under the rushes of a fish, 
or when pulled, a sixteen-foot line has 
an elastic quality that will 
take it very nearly to the 
nineteen-foot mark: other 
lengths of lines in propor¬ 
tion. But the moment the 
pull on the line is released, 
it will come back to its 
original length and will not 
be weakened in the least. 
And the suprising part of it 
is that age does not weaken 
it in this respect, nor indeed 
does it weaken it in any way. I have 
been referring in the above to a line of 
eight strands. Of course, the more 
strands there are to a line the stronger 
it becomes and the less noticeable its 
elastic quality. The less strands the 
more noticeable the spring to the line. 
'T'HERE are numerous other qualities 
* that commend the horse-hair line. 
For the fisherman around civilization 
who does most of his casting with a rod 
and reel, the horse-hair line will, in all 
probability, have little attraction. But 
for the man in the wilderness or out in 
the woods, a line such as this should be 
had for one of several reasons. First, 
a line such as this does not soak up 
water like the silk or linen lines, so 
that it is impossible for it to decay. 
You can hang it up anywhere; take it 
out in the spring of the year and it 
will be as good as ever. And, second, 
it does not collect ice along its length 
when fishing in the winter, a common 
failing with linen and silk lines; and 
of course, the further north you go 
the greater the chances of having to 
poke your line down veritably like a 
stick, owing to the collecting of ice 
along its length. But best of all is 
its imperviousness to soaking water. 
In a word it is waterproofed and even 
“enameled” (by nature if you will) 
and, third, no matter how bristling a 
series of fangs a pike or muscallonge 
may have, he will find it mighty hard 
to cut through this line with his teeth. 
They resist the teeth like steel wires, 
whereas merely the catching of the 
silk line on a fish fang, sufficient to 
separate a strand is enough to cause 
the breakage of that line and the get¬ 
away of a mighty fine fish. I make 
the assertion that if I were ever to go 
into the woods to spend a prolonged 
time, and would of necessity have to 
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