The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1917-07-19
THE BAIT-cASTING REEL.

My Dear Buck:
There is one part Of your bait-cast-
ing outfit that sure must be right in
material and workmanship, old scout,
or you might as well make up your
mind that your bait-casting days will
be grand old series of backlashes
and cuss words and that little old i'm
portant feature is your reel. You can
slip a set of guides on a cane or any
old stick and with good free-running
reel make a cast, but without reel
that runs smooth and even, your bait
casting will be one darned bit Of trou-
standing in the home burg you'll go
back to still fishing and lead peace
full, quiet life.
The quadruple multiplying reel and
the short rod have put bait casting in
the past few years in first place as
the most popular method of fishing, be-
cause it is easy to learn and gen.
orally gets the fish. There is nothing
mysterious about the q-m, it simply
means that the gears are toothed to
make four revolutions of the spool Of
the reel to one revolution Of the ham
die, this increases the speed of recov-
ering the line with the least amount of
hand work. In shape the reel should
be of the long, low spool design. The
ordinary. 60-yard reel having end
Mo foe Of . ipohoc in diamotor and tho
S0-yard reel PA inches. A reel Of
this size is plenty large enough for any
bait casting and the long, low spool
design aids in the thumbing of the
line.
In the selection of a reel you will
make no mistake in making it point
to choose one made Of German silver,
which by all odds is the best material
used in the construction of bait-casting
reels.
JeweIed Bearings Are Fine.
Without doubt jeweled bearings
on the reel make it run more smooth
ly and add to it's life. The heightened
life of a reel due to the fact that it
is jeweled more than overbalances the
edded cost over the ordinary kind.
AS a general thing the jewels are set
in removable caps at the end Of the
bearings which makes it easy to keep
them clean and oiled. Of course the
jeweled reel hicks you deeper in the
bank roll, but after fellow has put
in practice work on the lOwer-priced
reels and feels like investing in one
that will last forever, if handled right,
then the jeweled reel is the only one
to buy.
Care Of the Reel.
The life Of any reel will be mighty
short if it is not given care and at
tention. The finest machine in the
world will not run without oil, yet
many fellows will use reel week aft
ter week, and not think of feeding 1t
a little soothing strip until it begins
to scrape and rattle like the 5:15.
When this stage is reached they will
drop a little Oil in the cups, but the
damage is done through Overheated
bearings and pinions, and the reel will
never again run with freedom of fric-
ton and as smoothly as before the
rough grind handed it.
The reel should be cleaned and oiled
after each days fishing, The ordinary
thin oil is not sufficient, as no thin oil
will last through the different tempera-
lures to which a reel is subjected
during days casting. Heated by the
hot sun or chilled by the night air,
as well as drenched with water dur
ing the day makes a combination that
would eliminate any thin oil. While
the thick oils soon churn into a creamy
paste and hamper and clog the reel
so that you think you are losing your
speed at the game when your casts slow
up. You make no mistake when you
invest in a bottle of "real" reel oil
and the best comes from the jawbones
and lubber Of the porpoise. This oil
is refined up in the Arctic circle and
will stand the gait Of any temperature.
After you buy the oil, use it, don't
stand it away in the tackle cabinet
and forget it.
Oiling the reel is not all that Is
necessary to keep the little old pleas
ure producer in good shape. Like
the line, the reel should be entirely
dried after each days fishing. Al
though German silver does not rust,
it will corrode and the main cause for
corroding is dampness. Be fair to
the reel and dry it thoroughly in the
open air or sunlight, drop a little oil
in each oil cup before you tuck it
away for the night.
AS final tip on the reel, old man,
here's hopin' you don't take it apart
every once in while to see what makes
it go. The smooth-running qualities
of many a fine reel have been ruined
by the inquisitive cuss with the itch
ing palm and screw driver. OF course
you would never think of taking your
watch apart and assembling it again,
and a finely adjusted reel is just as
accurately set as a fine watch. If
anything goes bad with the reel, take
it down to a reel doctor and let him
feel its pulse. : DIXIE.