and somewhat more tiring- to fish with, 
nevertheless they will stand lots of 
hard knocks and are exceedingly com¬ 
pact—so much so, in fact, that they 
may be slipped into the pocket of a 
fishing - coat. A steel rod, as a bait¬ 
casting proposition, is far ahead of 
the average solid wood rod, offered on 
the market to-day. 
The best type of bait-casting rod is 
one having the short butt and long tip 
construction. This places the ferrule 
(the weak point) below the center of 
the rod, so that practically all the 
strain is placed on the long tip section. 
This eliminates the stiff, unyielding 
section present in rods having joints of 
equal length. 
The ideal rod for a person living- 
near his fishing, is one having a one- 
piece tip and detachable butt, but the 
virtues of such a rod quickly fade away 
when the angler stops to think of the 
inconvenience of carrying such an af¬ 
fair, especially if he must rely upon 
trains to reach his fishing grounds. 
Agate guides should be part of the 
equipment of all bait-casting rods. 
Agates throughout the length of the 
rod are highly desirable, but an agate 
first guide and tip are almost a neces¬ 
sity, as it is at these points where most 
of the wear on the line comes. 
A locking reel band on a rod is a 
“joy forever,” as it is certain insur¬ 
ance against throwing the reel into the 
lake. 
The finger hook formerly placed on 
all bait-casting rods is now being left 
off most of them, and this is a good 
thing, for no one but the rankest ama¬ 
teur would ever throw a rod into the 
water, and the beginner had better 
cast on the lawn until he becomes at 
least slightly skilled, before attempting 
to fish, anyway. 
Recently there has been a tendency 
among anglers who use bait - casting 
methods, to adopt lighter rods and 
lures. This is certainly a more plea¬ 
surable method of taking game fish, be¬ 
cause it is an approach to fly casting, 
which is the highest form of angling. 
The rod used in the light bait casting- 
class should be six feet, six feet three 
inches or even six feet six inches. The 
shorter lengths may weigh four or four 
and a half ounces and the 
longer need not weigh over 
five and a half ounces at 
the most. These weights 
are based on split bamboo 
as the material used, of 
course. The rod while light 
and well balanced is strong 
and at the same time pos¬ 
sesses a lively whippy ac¬ 
tion not unlike a stiff fly 
rod. A light braided silk 
line testing eight, ten or 
twelve pounds is used, in combination 
with a light quadruple reel. The lures 
used with this outfit are pork rind 
minnows, weighted bucktail flies and 
an endless array of small feathered 
lures and spinners, weighing a quarter 
or half ounce. 
Delicacy and accuracy are the key¬ 
notes to success with this method, and 
the angler who is a plug caster, can¬ 
not help but getting results and inci¬ 
dentally a lot more fun from the use 
of lighter tackle. 
It is claimed by many anglers that 
fish in certain waters become so ac¬ 
customed to seeing the same plugs 
offered them daily throughout the sea¬ 
son, that they will no longer strike at 
a great many of the wooden baits in 
common use. Whether or not this be 
true is a thing that no one can say 
with certainty, but judging from the 
number of plugs, similar in character, 
that rival manufacturers are turning 
out today (in an effort to keep plug 
fishing alive) it almost seems that there 
must be some substance to the state¬ 
ment. At any rate spinner fishing 
with light tackle should be a refresh¬ 
ing diversion for the angler who likes 
bait casting and has never used any¬ 
thing but plugs. 
Bait-casting reels are of the quadru¬ 
ple for four multiple type. Reels hav¬ 
ing a lower multiplication are in¬ 
efficient, because the handle must re¬ 
volve too rapidly, thereby upsetting the 
balance of the bait as it passes through 
the air, and causing back lashes. The 
best reels are made of German silver 
and may or may not have jeweled bear¬ 
ings; some of the most costly and best 
have plain bearings and will wear a 
lifetime. A comparatively recent im¬ 
provement in reels of this type is their 
equipment with spiral gears. This 
feature causes the reels to run freely, 
with little vibration and insures long¬ 
life through lessened wear. Some reels 
are equipped with double handles on 
the crank shaft and others have one 
handle and a balance weight. The 
double handle causes the reel to spin a 
little more freely because the air re¬ 
sistance is the same, but this is a mat- 
terter of minor importance. 
Free spool reels of the best type are 
BljACK Bav? 
TAKIFtr THE? BAIT. 
Page 369 
the one having a spool that revolves 
when the cast is made, and gears that 
engage automatically when the line is 
reeled in. Free spool reels are difficult 
to thumb for any but those having a 
light firm touch and the average angler 
who fishes rather infrequently will find 
the plain reel much the better for his 
work. 
There are many reels on the market 
embodying anti - backlash and lever¬ 
winding features, but these are not for 
the moderately skillful caster. He can 
get more fun out of doing the work 
himself. There are some anglers, how¬ 
ever, who never seem to master thumb¬ 
ing the reel and spooling the line to 
the extent where constant annoyance 
ceases and pleasure begins, and for 
these, a level-wind, anti-backlash reel 
should be a boon. 
A light quadruple reel, carrying 80 
or 100 yards of line, of good quality 
and workmanship, made by any one of 
a dozen American manufacturers is a 
good reel for almost any kind of bait 
casting. 
Lines used in bait casting are suc¬ 
cessful lines only when made of braided 
silk. These are of two kinds—soft and 
hard braid. The former is the easiest 
and most satisfactory to cast with, if 
it be fine, as it should be. The only 
thing that recommends the latter kind 
to the angler’s consideration is its 
wearing qualities. Some of the hard 
braided lines (these lines are braided 
over a core of silk) are treated with 
a parafin dressing which renders them 
pliable and they cast very smoothly. 
A casting line should test from eight 
to twenty pounds, according to the 
kind of fishing to be done. Lighter 
lines always cast better on account of 
less resistance to the guides. Fifty 
yards of line is generally enough, al¬ 
though the spool of the reel should 
always be full. To accomplish this, an 
old line should be used for backing, 
being put directly on the spool and the 
casting line attached to this. The rea¬ 
son for this is that in casting, due to 
the full spool, the drum of the reel will 
not have to make so many revolutions, 
will run steadier and will thereby de¬ 
crease the occasion for backlashes by 
about 50 per cent. A casting line 
should be thoroughly dried 
at the end of a day’s fish¬ 
ing. If this is done, it will 
last at least twice as long 
as it will if allowed to re¬ 
main on the reel wet. 
A selection of plugs is 
governed largely by the 
locality in which one fishes. 
It is a well-known fact that 
some plugs are more suc¬ 
cessful on certain waters 
(Continued on pac/e .399) 
