Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-07-27
Written for TaK Evxxrxs srAa
AN ANGLERS OUTFIT.
Fishing Taclie-How and Where 80 Il
Made.

A YLoURIsHrSo BRANCH OF rnApx-cHAr ABOUT
FIsH-HooKs-rHE MANUFACTURE OF FLIES AND
LrNEs-wHKRE THE BEST RODS COME rBor-
BOATS AND RKEIs-A FIsHKRMAS's OUTFIT.
Copyrighted 1881
The American citizen who has not gone
fishing at some stage of his career IL an en-
| tireiy unknown quantity in the national equa-
ton. Presidents and picksninnies alike delight
in the sport, yet few folks know just how and
where its implements are made The making,
carrying to and fro and assembling together OF
them is distinct and Hourishing branch of
trade, to which the bubble reputation is as
much part of success as the polyhedral re-
ality spot cash. Names and trade marks go
great way with fishermen, and in consequence
are jealousy guarded and widely blazoned.
More than one New York house is known in
every hamlet of the land, not to mention Cam
ada and outlying regions In any of them you
may fnd an array of tackle and 30 on that
would make Isaac Walton's ghost turn green
with envy at the thought that he was born
several hundred years too soon. Notwirh-
standing American ingenuity and a protective
duty OF forty, per cent our supply of fish
| hooks comes from England. Worcestershire is
the seat OF this manufacture, in the vicinage of
| Redditch, so long famed for matchmaking.
HOW HOOKS ARE MADE.
Hooks are made from soft wire, either iron
or steel two-foot coil of IL is cut in lengths,
which are then carefully Strengthened, after
| which knife set slantwise slices up the barbs
| a row at time. The points are then fled by
| hand and, after the hooks are bent TO shape,
the upper ends are fatted or ringed. Temper
| ing comes next, with securing Just after Then
the clean hooks are either japanned by plung-
| ing into barrels Of varnish or blued by heat.
| Nothing then remains but to pack and sort for
sale. They range in size from the big muir
| demonstrating shark hook, ten inches and
over, to the tiny No. IL that nudge will crave.
| Each sort OF fish has its own especial hook,
coming in twenty or more sizes. The sproat
| hook. the sneck, Kirly's hollow, Point Limerick
the Aberdeen. the Carlisle, and the Oshaughn-
essy are among the leading sorts. A new de-
parture In hooks Is a patent barbless one, in
which spur projecting from the shank to just
inside the lip, takes the place of barb, and il
| Is claimed will both catch fish more certainly
and let them be taken off with more ease than
the pattern which dates back pretty well to
Tubai Cain.
AS TO FLIES
their name is legion-a roster much larger than
| the moral law. The aristocratic salmon requires
| an imported fly, SO the blarsted Briton sends us
over our supply. For other fish, far and away,
the best flies are made this side of the sea- In
price they run from ten cents to eight dollars a
rainbow and stormy day. Fish are as national
as womenkind, and even more individual. The
black and yellow Of Lord Baltimore. or the
| scarlet tinsel of Silver Dortor may suit one
trout, while his mate will rise to nothing but
| the dullness of Great Sun or Brown Drake.
Nearly every sportsman has his favorite fly
often OF his own making and quite outside the
DOCKS. In addition there are rubber insects
nies, bees, grasshoppers, and SO on-so wonder
1uIiy manufacturing as to deceive the finny
elect. Then, too. most of the big houses will
make up any insect that may be sent them,
so as to humor all vageries of archaeological
taste.
Besides all this, there are for trolling spoons
galore, OF brass. or German, or nickel silver.
with wicked-looking gang hooks below. rubber
frogs. and crawfsh, and minnows of celluloid
or silk, all fastened to the hook and ready to go
INTO the water. Silk-worm gut for leaders is OF
course, all important. Much of il comes through
England, but one big firm has its own house in
Murcia, Spain, and thence brings over the
finest article known to the trade. In cost lead
| ers run from about one to twenty-eight dollars
| the dozen, and are either stained mist color
| or left white.
FoR SALTWATER FISHING THE BEST LINE
is braided fax, varying in size and strength
| according to the game. Only the finest fiber
| is used for it. 1t costs from 81 to 81 the hun
dred yards. ''Laid' or twisted fax lines are a
trife cheaper. The braided silk waterproof
lines used in fly fishing sell at to cents the
yard Laid grass" lines. SO called which are
properly China silk, sell by weight at 81. so the
ounce for best grades and 81. 25 for lower Ones
Cotton Lines, white or drab, either laid or
braided, are so ridiculously cheap that there is
no longer the slightest occasion for Young
America to lack a thing essential to bowls h
happiness as hook and line all his own. Five
cents ludiciously invested will secure it. and
doubtless yield him as much pleasure as for
tunes favorite gets out Of his $500 salmon rig
FLOATS AND sINKERs
have pretty well adj shapes, all weights, all
sizes for their own. In price they run betwixt
5 cents to % the dozen. Reels are as various,
but far more costly. There are at the least
200 patterns of them, costing from 80 cents to
S35 each. They are mainly Americana made,
and many OF the greatest improvements in
them are due to American ingenuity and pro-
tected by American patents. Polished brass,
German and nickel silver combined with steel
and hard and soft rubber are used in their con-
| struction. Swivels either of brass or
watch-spring steel, single, double or treble and
| cost rs cents to Sl.25 the dozen.
SPLIT BAMBOO FISHING RODS.
Not 80 many years ago the leading cheap fish,
ing rod was reed cut from the southern cane
brakes. Japanese bamboo has changed all that
and driven the home growth quite out of the
market. Calcutta furnishes the split bamboo
used for fine rods. They are round, six or
eight sided and made of many strips Of bam-
boo, cut lengthwise and fitted together with such
nicely that the enamel outside hardly shows
the seam. For butt and body the strips are
glued together in two or three foot sections.
joined by brass ferrule sockets. In the tips the
strips are left separate, thereby securing the
maximum Of strength and elasticity, with the
minimum OF weight. Salmon rods, with which
thirty-fve Founders are often landed weigh
but fourteen ounces, very much less than their
each. Very good ones, though, may be had for
Good Americans will rejoice to know that at
Londons fisheries exhibition New York ex-
hibitor won no end of gold medals and honor
able mentions, to say nothing of the special
Burdett-COutts prize. Further, that both the
Prince of Wales and Princess Louise use Amer
lean rods for salmon fishing, and that his scape-
grace of Marlborough took back q lot of Ameri-
can tackle along with his American wife.
THE FIsHERMAN's OUTFIT,
Trout and bass rods cost from s7.50 to esq
each. For wooden rods ash, lancewood. and
Demera greenheart are mainly used. A three.
piece ash rod, in natural color, 10 feet long,
$25, with o hundred intermediate Qualities.
For fly book you may take choice of at least
i've hundred patterns and pay from IS cents to
SIS. The latest and best are interleayed with
celluloid and fitted with springs for holding
safe aud straight knotted fly hooks. Tin tackle
boxes with ell manner Of convenient compart-
ments come in various sizes at from two to ten
dollars Rubber wading boots are S5 the pair
rubber trousers, coming well above the waist