Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-08
WINTER CARE OF TACKLE,

Lines That VIII Repay the Angler.
Little Precautions With Rod, Reel and
From the New York Sun.
ITS a source Of great surprise to me-"
said veteran angler, ito find that some
men have any tackle at all left over from
the preceding year when l see the careless
way in which they treat 1t. Rods are
dumped hastily into some garnet corner
often dry and hot enough to warp a tele-
graph pole. Lines still wet from the last
days fishing are tossed into an envelope
to mildew or are left to rot on the reels.
The reels themselves, put away damp I'M
cleaned, and without Oil. are Of course
bound to rust and give poor service the
following season. Hooks are tumbled in
with the damp line the steel to corrode,
the gut to dry and crack and split. When
the unfortunate who thus leaves things
to care for themselves loses a big fish on
the opening day of the next years sport
by the sudden parting of q rotten line he
breaks into torrent Of abuse directed
against the innocent tackle maker, and
goes straight to some shop to buy a COM
plete rev outfit, declaring that last years
stuff is never good anyway.
Now, all this can be, and should be
avoided. An hour or so of care at the
end of the season will insure the preser-
walton of rods, hooks, and lines Every
rod joint should be carefully Strengthened
before II is put up for the winter The
tips, especially, are bound to be more or
less set from the constant downward
strain. The remedy for this is to lay them
on fiat board and tack leather strips
across, holding them down to the plane
surface. BY keeping them damp a few
days you can readily warp them into prop
er shape Next give good rubbing down
with a mixture of powdered pumice and
sweet Oil to take off the cracked and
broken surface of the old varnish, and
then two thorough coats of thin varnish,
allowing plenty of time for the first coat
to dry before applying the second. You
and whipping are complete and in good
order, and repair any frayed or loose ones
before putting on the preservative. This
dressing fills all the pores of the wood,
roCs in their cases on a shelf in some room
of moderate temperature. Standing them
against wall is a bad practice, as it tends
to bend and set the wood.
Reels must be carefully taken apart.
cleaned of all rust and grit, and oiled.
Lines should be removed from the reels,
first wiped off with damp cloth, and
when dry with an oiled one, and then
wound on fiat bit OF board. Hooks should
always be dipped in oil before being stored
away, and grease will also keep the gut
smells moist and pliable.
Artificial flies require mere care than
all the rest Of the outfit put together.
whole army Of buffalo bugs, moths and
sinners are on the lookout for the soft
feathers and silks. Take every one out of
the book, and after laying in the sun for
a few hours to kill any chance germs or
eggs, wrap in camphorated paper or in
plain tissue paper and sift thoroughly with
powdered camphor gum. Then pack them
away in a red cedar case II you have or
can procure one, and no proving Vermin
will disturb that outfit.
with such care taken in time the an
gler will find at the opening of the next
season that he has saved many dollar,
and all Of his outfit is as good as ever,
and some of It even better than when 1t
was new, because of the seasoning"