Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-03-04
WINTER oARE OF TACKLE.

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 "It is a source of great surprise to me-" said q veteran angler, ito find that some men have any tackle at all left over from the preceding year, when I see the careless way in which they treat it. Rods are dumped has, tily into some garret corner, often dry and hot enough to warp telegraph pole. Lines still wet from the last days fishing are tossed into an envel- ope to mildew or are left to run on the reels. The reels themselves, put away damp, uncleaned 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 unfortun- ate, 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 a rotten line. he breaks into torrent of abuse directed against the innocent tackle maker, and goes straight to some shop to buy complete new outfit, declaring that last years stuff Is never good, anyway,
 '-Now, all of this can and should, avoided. An hour or so of care at the end of the season will insure the pre- servation of rod, hooks and lines. Ev- cry rod joint should foe carefully straightened before it is put up for the winter. The tips, especially, are bound to be more or less set from the constant downward strain The rem edy for this is to lay them on flat board and tack leather strips across, holding them down to the plane sur face. By keeping them damp few days you can readily warp them into proper shape, Next give good rub ping down with 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 must always look to see that the guides and whip ping are complete and in good order, and repair any frayed or loose ones be- fore putting on the preservative. This dressing fills all the pores of the wood and shuts out all decay. Then lay the rods and their cases on shelf in some room of moderate temperature. Stand ing them against wall is bad prac- tice, 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 flat 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 files require more care than all the rest of the outfit put to- gether. A 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 few hours to kill any chance germs or eggs, wrap in camphorated paper or in plain tis- sue paper, and ssft thoroughly with powdered camphor gum Then pack them away ill red cedar chest, if you have or can procure one, and no prowl- ing vermin will destroy that outfit.
 With such care taken in time. the angler will find at the opening of the next season that he has saved many a dollar, and all of lis outfit is as good as ever. and some of it even better than new. because of the seasoning''- Forest and Stream. #t