Fishing tackle

“ Jump has done conservative angling an estimable good, as well as placed himself in a class alone.
The use of light tackle by experts for big game fish of the sea has come to be an established practice in American angling. A few years ago, when sport with light tackle was exceptional, it required courage [Pg 260] to flaunt its use in the faces of fishermen of experience and established reputation. Long Key, now the most noted fishing resort on the Atlantic coast, was not many years back a place for hand-lines and huge rods and tackle, and boat-loads of fish for one man. ”

“ In actual fishing the angler is considered an expert who alone and unaided can strike, play and land a five-pound trout or a fifteen-pound salmon. Those are tests of skill that far exceed casting ninety feet in an open pond with a top-heavy rod.
Reels have kept up with the march of improvement in fishing tackle, and are now made much lighter and stronger than in days gone by. Hard rubber has taken the place of metal to a great extent, making the reel very much lighter. ”

“ The depth being taken, and the ground-bait thrown in, the angler, sitting with his face down stream,, drops his tackle in close to the boat, and allows it to float down stream unchecked as far as the line, which is generally a yard or two longer than the rod, will permit, when he strikes, pulls up the tackle, drops it again in close to the punt, and repeats the operation time after time. In the middle of these punts there is generally a well, so that the fish when caught are kept alive in the well until the day's fishing is over. ”

“ Look over and test your tackle every time you are going fishing—yes, and every time it gets caught on a stone or stump or in the bushes—if you wish to escape the loss of your best fish. All this means that tackle to be safe must be sound—that is, good all through. A line, for instance, which is strong in one place and weak in another will give you more trouble than one which is not so strong but uniform.
The strain upon the tackle is equalized by the elasticity of the rod, which to some extent makes up for want of dexterity. ”

“ That is why he prefers the rod to the seine, one big fish to many smaller ones, one cunning old trout or pickerel outwitted to a basket of stupid fish that contended for the bait. Presently he begins to desire more delicate tackle, and understands that he is fishing for sport, not fish. I take it that the whole art and mystery of angling is how to get the most sport and enjoyment out of it. But how?
To begin with, no one will destroy a fish which is not dangerous to man, nor will he fish just for amusement ”

“ Crockery and glassware are easily destroyed in a cruising craft, in spite of the ingenious racks and lockers invented to preserve them.
Don't omit to include fishing tackle among your stores. There is lots of sport in catching blue-fish or mackerel when under way, and many a weary hour when your craft is becalmed may be beguiled with hook and line. Besides, a fish fresh from the water forms an agreeable and appetizing change from the monotony of canned goods. There is no necessity to purchase expensive tackle for sea-fishing. All that is wanted is strong and serviceable gear. ”

“ A leather sheath will help to protect the axe edge from becoming dulled and the outfit from being cut. In use keep the axe clear of overhead limbs or brush which might turn it. Hold it rigid and learn to hit the spot aimed at.
The inclusion of fishing tackle depends on the nature of the locality you are to visit. Fish make an agreeable change from a bacon, biscuit and tea diet. Take a few hooks, a stout line, flies and spoon hooks and you can depend on improvising the pole where used. For bait you may be driven to bacon fat, frogs, grasshoppers or grubs from an old rotten log. ”

“ Proper tackle for all purposes—How to catch bait—The fly fisherman—General fishing rules
Fishing is one sport of boyhood that we never outgrow our love for. Some of the most enthusiastic fishermen are gray-haired men. We often hear about the boy with the bent pin and the piece of thread who catches more fish than the expert fisherman with modern, up-to-date tackle, but I doubt if it is so. As a rule the better our tackle the more fish we shall catch. If the country boy catches the most fish, it is simply because he is better acquainted with the places where the fish hide or feed. ”

“ The choice of fishing tackle, guns and arms depends largely upon personal taste. Steel rods of the best quality will serve better than split bamboo on an extended trip where one, continuously on the portage trail, is often unable to properly dry the tackle. ”

“ In bottom fishing in running water the same preliminaries are observed in taking the depth of the water, baiting, &c.; but when the tackle is dropped into the water the stream carries it along, and the angler, keep ing the top of his rod over his float, follows it down his swim, as it is called, until he reaches the end, or as far as he desires to fish, when he pulls his tackle out, and returns to the head of the swim, and recommences striking at every bob or dip of his float. ”

“ Angling in truth is often made much severer than it need be. The American fishing-men, in their instinctive search for notions, discovered long ago that the rods which they had copied from us were too long and heavy, and the necessary tackle altogether too cumbersome. They seldom use a longer salmon-rod than 15 feet, and frequently kill the heavy trout of their lakes and rivers with delicate weapons of 8 and 9 feet. ”

“ Long Key, with its isolation, yet easy accession, its beauty and charm, its loneliness and quiet, its big game fish, will become the Mecca of high-class light tackle anglers, who will in time answer for the ethics and sportsmanship of the Atlantic seaboard.
On the Pacific side the light tackle advocates have had a different row to hoe. With nothing but keen, fair, honest, and splendid zealousness Mr. James Jump has pioneered this sport almost single-handed against the heavy tackle record-holder who until recently dominated the Tuna Club and the boatmen and the fishing at Avalon. ”

“ As he is a sensible fellow and has no "tendency toward effeminate attenuation" in tackle, he graciously accepted and used the proffered cast of Pitcher flies tied on number six O'Shaughnessy hooks.
Having ventured this much concerning what the writer considers proper tackle, he would like to go further and record here his disapproval of the individual who turns up his nose at any rod of over five ounces in weight, and who tells you with an air from which you are expected to infer much, that fly fishing is really the only honorable and gentlemanly manner of taking trout. ”

“ Constant care of the belongings of his art, be he fly or bait fisher, is characteristic of the faithful angler, and only simple justice to the tackle maker. There is nothing sadder or more dejected-looking than a crippled rod and a neglected “kit” full of snarled lines, rusty hooks, and moth-eaten flies.
In the matter of winter angling, the fly-fisherman has a decided advantage over him who uses bait alone. The art for him has more side issues. He may, if he can, learn to tie flies or contrive and construct newfangled fly-books. ”

“ As the season advances, the native crawls upon some rock that reaches out into the stream, and with his coarse but elastic cedar pole, casts the roll of flannel, wrapped round a hook and misnamed a fly, into the seething current; and when the brave fish seizes the clumsy allurement the fisherman contends for the mastery as best he may, occasionally at the risk of a ducking in the stream consequent upon the sudden breaking of his tackle, and accompanied with considerable risk. ”

“ Bottom-fishing is roughly divisible into two kinds, float-fishing, in which a bite is detected by the aid of a float fastened to the line above the hook and so balanced that its tip is visible above the water, and hand-fishing, in which no float is used and the angler trusts to his hand to feel the bite of a fish. In most cases either method can be adopted and it is a matter of taste, but broadly speaking the float-tackle is more suited to water which is not very deep and is either still or not rapid. In great depths or strong streams a float is difficult to manage. ”

“ A game fish may be defined as one that will make a good fight for its life and that is caught by scientific methods of angling. Almost any fish will struggle to escape the hook, but generally by game fish we understand that in fresh water the salmon, bass, or trout family is referred to. Pickerel and pike are also game fish, but in some sections they are considered undesirable because they rarely rise to the fly, which is the most scientific method of fishing.
A fisherman who is a real sportsman always uses tackle as light as he can with safety and still have a chance of landing the fish. ”

“ The line should be braided linen of small caliber, and a multiplying reel should always be used. A short leader of three or four feet, and Sproat hooks, Nos. 1-0 to 3-0, on silkworm fibre and a sinker adapted to the strength of the tide, make up the rest of the tackle. As the fishing is done from an anchored boat a landing-net should be provided. With the tackle just mentioned, at slack tide, and with clam, [118] shedder-crab, sandworms, or shrimp bait, the angler can enjoy a good measure of sport with the sea-bass. ”

“ To the young angler the ruffe yields good sport; they associate in great numbers; their haunts are in recluse places, where the water is deep, and runs quietly, with a loamy or muddy bottom, and also in still water; the tackle should be fine, the hook No. 7, and a quill float; the bait (a small, well scoured red-worm) must just run on the ground, and either throw in some clay-balls, with worms, as directed in perch fishing, or if the water be clear, use common mud-balls to colour it; three rods may be easily managed, the baits touching the bottom ”

“ When a man has but a slight foothold upon the slippery surface of a shelving ledge, and has attached to the end of his rod a vigorous fish of twenty pounds, he is apt to fall if the line parts unexpectedly. Many are the tales of such accidents, and now and then of fatal results. But with proper tackle, the scientific angler is master of the situation; he can reach any part of the current, casting into the eddies at the base of the precipitous cliffs opposite; he can yield to the rush of the prey; can retire, paying out line, to surer{142} footing, and can follow the fish along the shore ”

“ Your tackle must be very strong, for the larger trout only are generally taken in this way, and the trees and bushes give them a good chance, after being hooked, of escaping, by breaking your tackle.
In dibbing you can only use one fly. There should not be more than a couple of lengths of gut on the line. The gut must be strong, and so must that to which the fly is attached. Keep a few flies, tied to thicker gut than you use when throwing the fly. ”

“ All it takes is some experience. To quote Mr. Bates, “The principle is that the angler should subdue the fish by his skill with rod and line, and put his strength into the battle to end it, and not employ a worrying process to a frightened fish that does not know what it is fighting.”
[Pg 88]
VI GULF STREAM FISHING
Some years have passed since I advocated light tackle fishing at Long Key. In the early days of this famous resort most fishermen used hand lines or very heavy outfits. The difficulties of introducing a sportsman-like ideal have been manifold. ”

“ Undoubtedly they could be taken with the trolling spoon, and a stout leader of double gut running on swivel traces attached to a dark hand-line would add greatly to the success. In fact, like all other fish, at times they are shy and must be fished for with fine tackle, and then the rod and line come into play. In fishing with a rod from a sailboat, the moment a fish is struck the sheet is eased off, the boat run up into the wind, and the fish killed at leisure; if the boat were kept in motion, the strain would be too great for the rod and reel. ”

“ Stout tackle and a heavy rod are better than lighter gear, as no one wishes to waste time on small fish, and the rises are so frequent that the angler will not become weary by continued casting. A gaff is necessary for the Mackinaw salmon, and a large landing-net for trout, but otherwise nothing is required different from that which the sportsman would take in a day’s trip to the classic haunts of Long Island. ”

“ The art of angling is generally viewed as one of the world's greatest recreations, and while each and every phase of fishing may be said to possess certain charms of its own, fly fishing for trout is regarded by most well-informed sportsmen as the alpha and omega of the angler's art. This is so because the trout family are uncommonly wary and game fish, and the tackle used for their capture is of finer balance and less clumsy than any employed in angling for the coarser game fishes. ”

“ Hints by an Old Hand.—When fishing in ponds, lakes, meres, canals, or in waters where there is no stream, the depth should be carefully taken the night before, or when ground-baiting, and marked on the rod, or by measuring the distance from the plummet to the cap of the float with a piece of cotton or string. If the angler prefers the bait to be within touch of the bottom, the better plan is to use a self-cocking float, and always use the finest possible tackle in clear water ”

“ Those known amongst anglers as “Crystal,” are excellent for roach fishing.
11. Is running tackle advisable?
Running tackle is decidedly preferable for such deep, strong waters as those between Coldham Hall and Reedham. For the slower waters of the Bure and the upper reaches of the Yare, I do not consider that running tackle has any advantages worth naming. ”