- ecanized 
The Angler’s 
Page 
A Brief Chapter on 
Reels 
By W. J. SCHALDACH 
ses, single action and multiply- 
ing. The multiplying reel is an 
American institution, all of the reels 
that are made in England or on the 
Continent, even now, being of the sin- 
gle-action type. 
Riss are divided into two clas- 
In this country, the use of the sin- 
gle-action reel is confined chiefly to fly 
fishing. Reels of this type are the 
simplest made, being free from gears 
and multiplying devices. The drum 
of a single-action reel makes one revo- 
lution to one turn of the handle. 
The commonest form of single-action 
reel, and one that has been in use for 
years, is a plain click reel with side 
plates and pillars. Reels of this type 
may be purchased in any tackle house, 
costing from seventy-five cents to five 
or six dollars. They are made with 
side plates of brass, nickel plated; vul- 
~ubber, German silver and 
aluminum. These plates are usually 
joined together by means of pillars, 
which are threaded at the ends and 
screwed to the plates. The spool con- 
sists of two discs of nickel-plated brass, 

a spindle of the same material. 
handle proper. 
aluminum or German silver, joined by 
This 
spindle has a small hole near one end, 
to which the end of the line is at- 
tached. The reel base is a piece of 
metal, concave in shape, about two and 
one-half inches in length, made to fit 
the reel seat. 
HE crank handle on most reels has 
a small metal balance opposite the 
Inasmuch as a single- 
action reel is practically always used 
with the click on, this is not really 
a necessity, and is sometimes a nui- 
Sance, as the line is apt to get tangled 
around it. The best types of reels, 
having a balanced handle, are those 
with the edge of the side plates ex- 
tending over and protecting the crank 
handle a bit, so that the handle runs 
in a sort of track, thereby preventing 
the line from becoming entangled in 
the handle or balance. 
The click mechanism consists of a 
small pointed “dog” which engages on 
a cog-wheel and is held in place by 
means of a spring. This ratchet, as 
it is called, is a highly important fea- 
ture of a single-action reel. It gives 
just the proper resistance to prevent 
the spool from revolving so rapidly as 
to back-lash and tangle the line, when 
line is stripped from the reel. 
In fly fishing, also, it serves the 
same purpose when a good-sized fish 
is hooked, and is allowed tc run off 
line directly from the reel. Some reels 
are equipped with a sliding button, by 
means of which the ratchet mechan- 
ism is thrown off or on. In a great 
many ways, this button is a nuisance 
and as there is practically never any 
occasion to take the click off of a sin- 
gle-action reel, it is far better to pur- 
chase a reel with a fixed click (after 
the English fashion) and_ thereby 
eliminate a lot of trouble, as these but- 
tons are constantly out of order on a 
great many reels. 
HE best type of single-action reel, 
and one that is becoming increas- 
ingly popular with fly fishermen is the 
tall narrow reel with revolving side 
plates and small handle attached to 
the side of the plate, without the bal- 
ance weight found in the other style 
of reel. This reel originated in En- 
gland, and it is in that country that 
the best reels of this type are still 
made, but during the past few years 
One of the best types of fly reels. 

nia PO ec ca Ag ir vcs 
have 
duced a reel that looks like the En- 
glish product, and while it will not 
wear so long and does not possess the 
same beautiful finish, nevertheless it 
will give good service and usually costs 
about half as much as the foreign-made 
American manufacturers pro- 
article. Reels of this design are usually 
made of aluminum alloy, in gun metal 
finish. One good feature embodied in 
these reels is a kind of two-way click. 
When the line is stripped from the reel, 
preparatory to casting, the tension is 
heavy. 
A [gts gives a hooked fish a heavy 
resistance to play against. When 
the line is reeled in the tension is 
light and is less jarring to the nerves 
of the angler than in the case of reels 
having an even click both ways. The 
spools of the reels are seldom more 
than an inch in diameter which is a 
decided advantage, as the angler has 
no need to spool his line when reeling 
in, in order to prevent its overlapping 
and thereby becoming entangled. A 
few of the higher-grade reels of this 
type have an agate line guide placed 
where the line leaves the reel. This 
is an advantage, in that it prevents 
wear on the line to some extent, but 
the angler using such a reel must be 
very cautious not to bump the reel 
against a rock or other hard object, 
lest he fracture the agate ring and 
thereby ruin a fine enameled line by 
having it pass over the cracked stone. 
Most of the reels that are equipped 
with the agate line guide also have 
a compensating or graduated click. 
This is adjusted by means of a screw 
on the edge of the frame. The tension 
of the click is increased and dimin- 
ished by turning this screw forward 
457 
