ANGLING NOTES.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13739, 21 May 1910, Page 2

ANGLING NOTES.

PUTTING AWAY TACKLE. (srECIAM-Y -n-BITTEX FOE "THE PRESS.") (By "Icon Blue.")

This is the a.bominable wet-footed month . when fishing tackle is being stored ay/ay tor the winter, and while the work is in progress it is better to ito it nicely, so that the tackle shali not reappear in the hideous tahglc. that some of ns know well from experience. Properly, it should have bc-r 11 put away before, but such neces--s.try proceedings are often overlooked, ..ml in a lit ot unaccustomed neatness I have been severely shocked at my j own shortcomings They were brought I home fo mc when I tried to take a I goit club off the rack, and knocked down several spare rod-tops which were on ihe same hooks. As a result a top was broken, and then I recollected that my pet fly rod was still hanging j against a wall ready for use, and equally liable to accident. That reflection led to .**. *-earoh for th.- rodLag, and having discovered it behind a door where some evil poison had hung it out ot sight, I felt that I had clone well, and went to tako down the rod. Afterwards, misliappeningscame much too quickly for peace and quietness; a lot of line had been pulled off the reel, tho rod point was evidently strained, and about half the cast had vanished with the tail fly. One thing lead.; to another, and while bad-wording tlw damage and its doer I remembered that the house kitten was unaccountably tender'on its off fore-leg; and sure enough the fly was firmly embedded in the pad. The cast must have been waving in the wind, and the flighty, kitten had coveted thc "coachman." Then tweezers had to be found and a sr.rgical operation performed, to which tho ungrateful little beast vigorously objected. However, by thc timo my finger had been bitten nearly through and my hands well clawed, 1 had got out tho hook; and when I let it go, the house kitten went away sound enciigh for anything, at the rate of knots. That was some consolation, so the fly rod waa put away, and hung to a nail by the loop on the bag, with two others of its own species. The lower joints of the spinning rod were jammed fast, and 1 used a match to heat the ferrules; and another and one more, untii I had used all that wero in the match-box. Then someone came to my aid with a candle, and the ferrules were heated sufficiently to come apart; and at last tho spinning rod was bagged and hung up with the rest. Varnish wsxs badly wanted on some of them, and several rings were loose and lappings worn through; but I had seen enough of rods for the moment, so repairs were .-postponed, and I '.lit a pipe and began to poollect their fittings. Tho tally of half-a-dozen reels was quite correct, and after stripping a couple of new, and therefore precious, lines —to be coiled loosely away in a flat box—each reel received a share of oil, which. I had stolen from the sewing machine, arid was tied snugly in a wadba*; to keep safely until next season. flies and fly cases were more troublesome to manage; they could bo found almost any whero in greater or less numbers—even in th© kitten's paw—aud as each holding-box, or envelope, or tobacco tin. or corked-up cartridge case, was added to the growing heap, I tried to think of fresh places where others had been put. Gradually I came to the conclusion that the rest must wait, and in the end everything in the way of being an imitation insect was bundled into a drawer for future consideration. Minnows came next, and all thoso lacking triangles or wanting tics were carefully culled out —I must cay "culled,'" it sounds so homey—and thrown into the box which contains so many others equally in need of repair. Their more fortunate fellows were put into boxes with separate divisions, in which it will he impossible lor them to squirm into the usual prickly n-.'.ss, so I hope that nil will be well. Casts aho have conic in for their share of winter comfort, fot- they have been wrapped in cilsilk, and then in a nice now chamois leather outer covering which I found in a drawer. I never knew anything in such request as that "shammy leather"; it seems that our maid was going to spoil it by cleaning silver, if I had not luckily saved it in time, but at present I have said nothing on the subject; after all, perhaps that was best. Tho casts mny or may not ke-jp in good condition until next sea-son; in our climate it is always doubtful, but at any rate I have done my best for them. Finally 1 had intended to overhaul that spring balanco most thoroughly, and fix it in proper order. The miserable machine will never make things heavy enough in spite of every assistance, and now it has been mislaid. Happy thought, they say that "every cloud has a silver lining"—if one can only see it —or words to that *.ft'ent; perhaps the spring balance has been truly "inisslaid" for weighing in mutton from our butcher. Be it so.