Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 91.djvu/643

 Making and Using a Casting Rod

��II. — The manner of making the cast and controlling the line

By Stillman Taylor

��BAIT casting with the modern short casting rod is altogether unlike the old method handling the nine foot bait rod. In the new style the casting is done from the reel, and after a little

���Fig. 7. The control of the line is entirely reg- ulated by pressure of the thumb on the spool

practice, it is easy to project the minnow or other weight a distance of 75 or 100 ft. Casting is good sport in itself apart from fishing, and by attaching a Y^-oz. weight to the line, practice and contests may be indulged in upon any open lot, or in the public park.

A good smoothly running reel is an important part of the casting outfit, and while the expert tournament casters often pay $25 or more for their jeweled reels, a very fine reel may be had for about $5, and serviceable ones as low as $1.50. The kind of reel to buy is of the long barreled type, having a capacity of about 80 to

���Fig. 8. The underhand cast is started from this position, the tip being about breast high

100 yards of line. A satisfactory reel is shown in Fig. 7, with which no trouble is

��likely to be encountered in making fairly accurate casts up to 150 feet. This reel costs about $1.75.

A good silk line is likewise needed, and while the softer braided silk casting lines are somewhat easier to thumb and less likely to tangle up when you happen to get a backlash, the harder braids soak up less water and will prove most durable. For tournament use, soft braided lines are best ; for fishing, pick out the hard braided kind.

As the control of the line is entirely regu- lated by pressure of the thumb on the

���Fig. 9. The rod is brought quickly forward across the body in the direction of the cast

spool, this "thumbing" the line is easiest done when the spool is well filled with line. It is not often necessary to purchase a longer line than 50 yards, and if this amount does not entirely fill the spool of the reel, simply wind on a length of common string to form a core, and wind on the line over it to fill up the spool. Many of the expensive casting reels are fitted with cork or wooden cores or arbors, but the string core will answer all purposes.

Two styles of casting are much used, the underhand and the overhead cast. As the whole secret of casting lies in thumbing the line, the novice should grasp the rod in the correct manner, as shown in Fig. 7.

The underhand cast is the easiest, and

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