The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-17


These devices OF the surc-thing order are
deadly enough If they lure tho fish. but
they are not sportsmanlilte, any more than
a pump gun Is spor,smanlike. Their pur-
poss is to enable the fish hog to load boat
with fish meat, and they have a wide sale
AMONG men who are not genuine baitcast-
ers, but pay more attention to scores than
to science.
1t Il a standing taunt by hymen that
they gan use. only single hook to lure,
whether fishing f.. trout, o,iananiche or
salrl: IN, wherec- bc,, casters have all sorts
OF oontraptions for grabbing and murder
ing bass, and when this taunt is flung the
bait caster il silent in wrath,
more than single hook, but he knows he
faults and crimes of those who masquerade
under his name. and he is forced To keep
mum or 10 acknowledge ane corn.
There is this season noticeable shorten
ing OF bait rods; That 10 tendency which
gone on until the limit has been reached
and passed,
Five years ago the rods Of men who
practised bait casting az steady diversion
measured from to 8 feet 1t was then
The b that s ons s s hs r0a Of
the cast with the least exertion.
Now rod o., feet is regarded as long.
Men who used the long rods then are
compromising upon 8-footers nov lhe
majority OF rods sold are under six feet,
The most popular rod measures feet
Some rods are 4 feet q inches. They are
made to order in a good many instances
as short as ~ feet
There are some 4-foot rods built for ex-
tremists. In at least two instances Western
bait casters have rods which measure only
70 inches, These rods are little longer
than walking at icks
The users OF the very short rods say
that as much line may be got out with them
by people who know how, and that they
are much more easily handled either from
are more easily handled. but it is open to
question whether as much line may be got
out with them, or even sufticiency OF
line.
Different men need different lengths of
rod, and there is no such thing as rod that
every man. A fellow Q feet 3 inches with
arms that drop nearly to his knees will
handle 7-foot rod as easily as short
man will handle one Of feet.
A good compromise rod measures s
feet from butt to tip. This is rod with
feet may be made without trouble, and
such casts are long enough. The man OF
average size will find that he can handle
it more easily than he can handle rod OF
5ls or 6 feet.
Particularly in boat. when a bass has
been fought to a standsti and has been
reeled to the boat q side, II is an easy matter
to hold the butt of the 5-lobt rod in the
right hand, ard with the left hand grasp
the line foot above the hook and so lift
be necessary to shift the hold Of the right
hand in order to reach the lire and with a
bass. no matter whether he is tired or not,
It IL always a good thing not to shift the
hand hold.
This for men who do not use the dip net
or course, with n dip net ability to reach
the line with the left hard counts for
nothing.
Tho 5.foot rod is never in the way
II a man Is casting from shore with brushy
bank or tree-l limbs behind him. he will
danger of entangling the bait than II the
rod were a foot or two longer.
The 5-footer is of sufficient stiffness,
but is rot too stiff. Made Of good bamboo
Lakewood. greenheart or daga;na,-n not to
mention the new wood with the odd name
that is supposed to come from the Businesses
OF equatorial Africa and is probably grown
in New Jersey-it Will be found to have
elasticity enough to send the bait whirling
for good hundred feet. always supposlng
that the proper wrist jerk be given and
the proper pressure Of the thumb upon the
reel follows the jerk.
Many men are purchasing, steel rods OF
five feet. They are good for all angler
who likes n heavy ard still rod They
co not come apart when water gets TO the
glue they do not set or remain with crook
in the tip; they are very strong: they will
outlast any owners liking: they are cheap.
They are however, dead rod to the feel:
the upper joints have tendency to twist
to the left they must be taken apart fire.
quently or the joints will rust together;
the wood under the reel-seat will almost
inevitably swell and crack the recl-base.
and no man can do as far and easy casting
with them as with a bamboo of high
quality
upon at considerable length Wiseacres
have wasted much ink in telling beginners
how to learn. 1t has even been though,
worthy OF book or two, All the inforna-
ton given upon multitudinous pages may he
condensed into an article the length of
SCN column.
Briefly. the art of bai,-casting is the art
Of throwing a mud ball from the end OF
a shor, switch. Any boy who has ever
rolled pellet Of clay the size OF common
marble. fastened it to the small end of
switch three feet long, and with it swatted,
pumped or sm:tten the neighbor's boy
forty yards away should make good bait
cast err, because he has had useful practice.
The rod with the bait dangling two inches
from it's tip is brought back over the right
VIII tls sweep, ~ -
brought forward with the identical sweep,
and the missile is projected with the idcnti
cal jerk of the wrist, That is all there is
to throwing he bait.
The art of the caster consists most largely
in governing the line after the bait has been
started n he permits it to run too freely.
the reel will spin more rapidly than the
line is taken ou! and the spool will overrun.
making a horrible tangle. II he does not
permit it to run with sufficient freedom,
the bait will travel only half of the proper
distance and will fall into the water far
short Of the target.
The flow of the line is regulated wholly
by pressure of the right thuv,b upon the
reel, and the proper amount of pressure
is to be learned and gagged only by practice.
All of the books ever written or to be writ
ten. all of the rules talked or codifed, will
not teach a man to cast. Three things.
and three things only shall make him az
nearly perfect us his nature will permit:
concentration, and elbow
grease.
OF the lines with which the season OPENS
not a great deal is to be said in praise. The
very expensive lines are good. They
always are, being composed of best ma
Ierals and woven by most skilled workmen
If a man cares to pay from SO 10 81 for n
No. 5 or No. G line he will get 1t good, II
may be depended upon until II suffers the
Inevitable rot from frequent wetting.
But the cheaper lines, those within reach
Of the ordinary angler, are sometimes good
and more often had. Buying them is muclT
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