CHAPTER XXIII

TACKLE TALKS

"Slight lines of hair surprise the finny prey."
Pope.
"See that all things be right
For 'tis a very spite
To want tools, when a man goes afishing."
Charles Cotton.

To Extract Hooks.—Cut the snell free and push the hook on through, depressing the upper end so as to bring the point out as near as possible to where it went in. Don't try to pull the hook back.

Knots in Rodwood.—Don't switch a light rod sideways. The maker may have purposely put a knot to one side, and this would cause the rod to snap.

Function of the Rod.—"The essential and most important office of a rod is that which is exhibited after the fish is hooked ... in other words, in the playing and landing of the fish. In practical angling the act of casting, either with fly or bait, is preliminary and subordinate to the real uses of the rod. The poorest fly-rod made will cast a fly thirty or forty feet, which is about as far as called for in ordinary angling. But it is the continuous spring and yielding resistance of the bent rod, constantly maintained, that not only tires out the fish, but protects the weak snell or leader from breakage, and prevents a weak hold of the hook from giving way; and this is the proper function of the rod."—James A. Henshall, Favorite Fish and Fishing.

Silkworm Gut.—"The features to be sought are good color, a hard, wiry texture, roundness, even diameter from end to end, and length. From these are to be inferred the strength and wearing quality of the gut, which are what we wish to estimate. From the color we infer whether the gut is fresh or stale, its probable strength in relation to its thickness, and, in part, its wearing quality. In all these respects fresh gut is superior to old gut of original equal quality. The color can best be judged from the fuzzy end of the hank, and should be clear and glassy, and by no means dull or yellowish. The wearing quality of the gut may be judged partly by its color, partly by its springiness when bent and released, and also by its hardness. It should feel like wire."—Henry P. Wells, Fly-Rods and Fly-Tackle.