Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-06

knot that will glide as readily as possible
through the guides, SO that should the en-
tire length Of line on your reel be required
for some big fish. you will not be In trou-
BILE over your bad knot.
The line next requires attention in our
survey of the bait casters equipment, and
here no such embarrassment of riches con-
fronts as in the choice of a reel While
there are several good-indeed, almost per-
fect-lines no won the market, suitable for
the sport, the line manufacturers have
not caught any frenzy of interest as yet.
The requirements of line for bait cast
ing are many and severe. Perhaps that ex-
plains why our line makers have not be-
come enthusiastic over the subject. 1t must
be of extremely fine caiber, yet of great
strength; ii must be very light in weight to
be carried far by bait of half ounce or
less, yet it must be so fashioned as to stand
the sharp, sudden snap which frequently
comes when the line overruns and sfars at
the reel while the bait is in mdair and sail
ing at great speed: it must not kink readily;
it must not fray; it must be absolutely free
from any form of sizing or waterproofing
since those treatments render it entirely UNI
fit for bait casting
Now silk is the only Material suited to the
manufacturers of silk lines in America
pable of producing the line described may
be numbered on the fingers of one hand.
Raw silk closely braided over a silk core
is the usual construction. This keeps the
line round under all conditions, which is
most important The lines known as the
Martin "Kingfsher' or "Slickest" are not
excelled by anything on the market and
have been used by the expert casters for
several years They are round, hard braid
ed of various colors and sizes, entirely I'M
finished save for colorng, and can be relied
upon for astonishing strength, considering
their small size. Where all that may con-
meet you with the record fish of the season
is a tiny thread of silk 1t Is well to buy the
best
And now for the casting. Rod put to-
gether reel fastened securely in it's place,
line threaded through the guides, you find
an unfrequented nook of bay or lake and
essay your first trials of the new pastime.
Never mind whether there are fish or not
in the water over which you cast-probably
better that there be none; If there We're
your first antics might scare them to death.
One famous Brooklyn inventor-angler ad-
mitted to me that he did his first practcing
sitting fiat the floor of his long parlor.
But he Is wealthy and can afford to smash
a few articles of vertu while he practices
for coming tournament.
There are three casts in bait casting. The
overland from right to left and from left
to right. My advice is to practice the left
to right first. That is, to start with your
right side toward the water, your rod in
your right hand away around touching your
left arm. With your thumb gently resting
on the spool of your reel swing slowly
around to your right and make a motion as
If to fling your bait away from you out onto
the water, something as you used to do
back in boyhood when you flung apples or
from end of willow stick
you remember how they sailed off into the
air? Exactly that motion is what you want
to acquire in bait casting.
The left to right motion is recommended
since that direction generally produces
least speed Of the three, and you will have
greater time and interest for watching your
work, which really consists not in swing of
body, arm or wrist, or direction that your
bait may take, but the delicate "thumbing'
of the reel on which everything depends.
Without that skill which comes alone from
careful attention and practice you will
never achieve either distance or accuracy
and your reel Will be constantly In a snarl
through oVerrun line
The location of the thumb upon the reel
may be described by word. Place 1t so
that the cross bar Of the reel Immediately
in front Of the spool comes exactly under
the first joint of the thumb, and use the
rounded, soft part of the finger to feel and
control the spool.
The cast should be upward and away. 1t
should begin slowly, gather speed for, say,
one-half Of the cast and then when the
right second arrives the thumb Is almost
lifted from the spool and the bait goes SAIL
Ing off sixty, eighty hundred feet per-
haps. But forty feet with ordinary tools
will be quite satisfactory performance at
first, and the beginner would better content
himself with care and delicacy In his cast
ing rather than senseless aiming for
speed and distance.
There is good reason for believing that
women who enjoy angling will become quite
as proficient as men in bait casting, since
the requisites delicacy Of touch and
quick perceptions, rather than great
strength. And no form of angling will de-
light the sport-loving American woman
more than this new method of taking the
black bass.
After the left to right cast has been prac-
ticed until the novice has become fairly
familiar with the first principles and has
learned to release the bait at the right mo-
ment, the right to left cast may be tried
This will probably show greater distance
and the beginner will be CORRESPONDENCE
encouraged. Then the overhead cast, which
is exclusively used by the tournament an
glers." may be learned. though there are
not wanting those who deem this method
better adapted to records than angling.
However, many good anglers, familiar with
each OF the casts described, habitually use
the overhead, claiming that it permits OF
better accuracy and greater distance.
In this cast as In the others, the bait Is
reeled up to within six inches Of the tip OF
the rod. Then the rod is carried over the
right shoulder and the tip depressed from
perpendicular, say, 30 degrees. From this
position the bait Is cast by an accelerating
motion OF arm and rod-tip far and out.
Accuracy as to general direction of the bait
Is undoubtedly easier to attain by this than
the other methods.
AS to bats. there are many. A consider
able number have already been described in
q previous article, but there are legions
fighting their way into recognition and
fame. The customary casting bats for