ANGLING NOTES.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14830, 22 November 1913, Page 14

ANGLING NOTES.

useful to know. (Bγ "Ikon BrxB.") (skciallt wßirnc- tor "tb* rKtss-' , ) To every angler, no matter where he may angle, or how carefully, occasions will arrive when some seemingly trivial device can save him trouble or loss; and perhaps add greatly to the pleasure of a fishing day. For instance , , in such climatic variations as at present are our lot, the evil of "stuck ferrule*" may occur at any moment; and I have a vivid memory of an infuriated man, stamping to all parts of the compass m turn, as he tugged wildly at an apparently welded joint, and raked the length and breadth of our language ior assisting words. If he had remembered tho plan, ho could have; taken out his matchbox and used a portion of its contents in heating the obstinate joint, when almost certainly tho ferrules would have come apart quite easily. This is a simple elan, but if is very frequently usetul, and it during tho heating process the brats joint should become blackened, a -litt-lo rubbing will generally remove every trace. Another way of dealing with stuck ferrules is an adaptation-of the thing i known as a Spanish windlass. Take a piece- of thick string, wot it. douylo it, lay tho two ends lengthways along the rod, pointing towards the joint.' and lap the rest of tho string buck over them until you have only the loop, which must be close up to the joint. Now push a piece of stick through the loop, and by twisting tho stick oue can get an amount of leverage that usually will prove sufficient. It nece.«*a:>\ a a additional >train can I" , gained by fastening the butt of the rod on a branch or fence. This way of the Spanish windlass is. l'pr those who <k> not carry matches or who- fear ill to the rod from heating the joint; bin in my osui experience of the.se most annoying "stuck ferrules,' , tho matches always have • succeeded. Of conr.se. "prevention is' better than cure." so if there is time, it is well to touch i the joints with vaseline before start- | ing. Thus we may avoid the dilemma | of the fisherman, who, foiling to get j the joints of his rod apart, was com- ; pelied to take it whole intoa railway I carriage, and to stick half its length out of a window that an irascible old gentleman insisted on having shut. 1 I do not know exactly how th.it matter i ended, but when I" left the irascibfo j gent seemed likely to "make it club*."' j So far we have cared for the worst wet-weather evil which probably will happen to the tackle; now for a time when the water is clear, and presumably the. trout nwy be scared by the whiteness or glistening of a new gut cast. To stain the gut green, put a pint and a half of water into -a- pot with one drachm, of logwood chips and six grains of copperas, and boil the mixture until it will colour a piece of writing-paper very- promptly. Then remove the pot irora tho fire, and as ! the liquid becomes quiescent," put in the cast on a little wire hook, w> that it can be lifted out for examination. It should be sufficiently coloured in three or four minutes. This is a favourite staining, .but I -am not sure that it does not reduce the strength; and 'perhaps a better plan is the safe teapot stain, to obtain which it is necessary only to'sbnk the gut for half sn hour in the lukewarm teapot or billy at the end of breakfast. Personally, I have to use the "lukewarm billy" of the night before, for if -I arrange to go fishing wjth n friend. I have usually to eat my-breakfast on the vun to the meeting-place: or my friend arrives—and is not pleased , .with me—while I am in the middle of the meal. This is merely by the way, but for tho consideration of all keen anglers I sugprostthat it is much easier, and also far | mor<» profitable, to fish x>ll night than to keep a six o'clock tryst iucthe morning. To 'prevent new gut from glistening too brightly in the wntor, crush up a common or garden dock leaf —particularly a "garden" dock leaf, because.in that ciieo you will bo doing a good act —;an"d rub the bruised pieces along the length of the cast. This removes all j undesirable glitter, but if there is any place where docks do not abound, a bit of "heetball v will serve as a substitute,., though its effect is less permanent.. This "heelball" can he bought.from the bootmaker, and it will also answer very well for tho purpose of straightening a ojist. Another pood "strnightenpr" is a small piece of indinrubber, which will occupy a .corner of a waistcoat pocket.'•: Apparently it .does not always occur to the- fisherman that though he may have run short of ji pnrticujar fly which' the trout are Inking, he has most probably another* pattern which can he altered until it will pass muster as tho first. There is a story of an angler who desired a Tnrtridce Ha'-kle, and offered his friend a March Brown In exchange. The friend cut away the wines of the March Thrown, and handed it bark signin. "You may wnnt an-; other,' , inul the "THtnful other follow never noticed the difforeuoc. In a liko manner a Zulu can bo turned into a Blnck Palmer by snipping off tho nvJ tng: n good-sizod Greonwoll shorn of its wings, will become a servieaablo. Nymph; nm\ ;\ turn of two of nwuwrk herl on tho tail makes a Rod.Rninner. into n Red Ant: and so forth. ,lf tbo niece- of peacock horl is not at hand, it is quickly found in the long-snffei'inc; bociv of sow old Governor which is pnstusc , , and the bit of silk For tyinrr iton scarcely will be .misled from the* lining of your cont. Thus, without much trouble we have the Red Ant, which often proves acceptable when .a Tf«xl Spinner is lacking in effect. Many other alterations are possible, but these, must be considered at some future date.

I suppose it is the beghiner who is most likely to becomo attached to the various obstacles which adorn a riverbank, so to him I" venture a word of ajlvice. Generally, the obstacle in question lives on. the opposite bank, with a run of unwadeabie water in between, but at first there is always a good chanco of-getting the tackle clear without a smash. Never tug violently ftt the line; just shako it gently and quite- probably £ho fly will drop off into tho water at once. or the continued, shaking presently will free it from tho hold. When constantly fishing in very weedy waters, it is well worth while to carry an old-fashioned contrivance called "a clearing ring. ' This is a hinged metal ring tied on the cud of some "watcrcord" line, which all rolls up to fill a very small space in tho basket. Whenever the angler is unfortunate enough to be badly weeded, the ring is clipped on round the rod and line, and the watercord is given out until tho ring has run down below the bait. Then by hauling, at the watercord the weeds may bo pulled right out; or if the ring has caught on tho hooks of the minnow—-bully—you are pulling straight at the hold, and are not straining the rest of tho tackle by useless wrenches. Usually the result is a great saving of both tackle a»d "temper; and at the worst, the loss is limited to the triangle which has taken hold.

When in camp at an out-of-the-way place it may bo useful to know how- to dispose of trout which otherwise might be wasted, and as there is a good way which is not at all troublesome. I give it here. Split the fish down the back, clean them, cut off the heads, cut out the backbone, and then rub in along the course of the backbone—a mixture of salt and black pepper, in equal quantities, and a little brown sugar. N O w hang them up, in the sun and wind, and unless it rams leave them then? for thrco days. A north-wester will wisist the drying process very greatly, but at any rate the three days probably will be enough, and at the end they should be nicely

snn-browned and ready to store away tor future use. I havo kept fish prepared m this way for moro than two months; and I think that anyone who tnes tie plan will be well pleased at tho result.