Build Your Own Fishing Rod And Reel
HOME-MADE FISHING TACKLE.
The Rod.
To rig up a home-made trout rod, you need a straight, slender, elastic pole, such as can be found in any wood or thicket, some pins, and a small piece of wire. File off the head of several pins, sharpen the blunt ends, and bend them into the form of the letter U. At a point about two feet from the butt end of the rod drive the first pin, leaving enough of the loop above the wood to allow the fish line to pass freely through ; drive the other pins upon the same side of the rod and at regular intervals. Make the tip using a piece of wire by bending a neat circular loop in the centre, and then knitting or binding the wire on the end of the pole (Fig. 35).
Should you have enough wire,it will be much better for the other loops than the pins.I use all wire loops and not the pins but it depends on what is available.
Cut the wire in pieces about two and a half inches long, make a simple loop in the centre of each piece by wraping the wire around a large nail or similar, and with a ” waxed end ” or strong thread bind the ends of the wire lengthwise on the rod, then give each loop a turn, twisting it in proper position (Fig. 36).If you then coat the thread in Mum’s nail varnish (when she’s not looking) is looks and lasts a lot longer!
The Reel
With a large wooden spool, an old tin can, and a piece of thick wire, a first rate reel may be manufactured.
Put the wire through the spool, allowing about one inch to protrude at one end and about three inches at the opposite end. Wedge the wire in firmly by driving soft pine sticks around it, and trim off the protruding ends of the sticks. Cut a piece of tin in the shape shown by the diagram (Fig. 37),
punch a hole each side piece for the wire to pass through, leaving plenty of room for the spool to revolve freely. Turn the side-pieces up upon each side of the spool, and bend the long end of the wire in the form of a crank. Hammer the bottom piece of tin over the rod until it takes the curved form, and fits tightly, then with strong wax string bind it firmly to the rod.
If it should happen that a piece of tin could not be procured, a reel can be made of a forked stick and a spool.
Cut a forked stick and shave off the inside flat, as in Fig.38,
cut two notches near the bottom, one upon each side ; this will allow the fork to bend readily at these points. Make a small groove for a string at the top of each prong. Put the spool between the prongs, allowing the wire to protrude through holes bored for that purpose. Bend the long end of the wire in the form of a crank. Tie a string across from end to end of the prongs to hold them in proper position, and you have a rustic but serviceable reel (Fig. 39).
It may be attached to the pole in either manner shown by Figs. 40 and 41.
Boys who find pleasure in outdoor sports should always be ready with expedients for any emergency. A fish hook is rather a difficult thing to manufacture, though I have seen them made of a bird’s claw bound to a piece of shell by vegetable fibre. I would not advise my readers to attempt to make one. A better plan is to always carry a supply about your person, inside the lining of your hat being a good place to deposit small hooks.
Home-Made Nets.
A simple way to make a minnow net is to stretch a piece of mosquito netting between two stout sticks. If deemed necessary, floats may be fastened at the top and sinkers at the bottom edge of the net (Fig. 42).
Coarse bagging may be used if mosquito netting is not obtainable. But with a forked stick and a ball of string for material, a jack-knife, and your fingers for tools, a splendid scoop-net can be made that will not only last, but be as good, if not better, than any you could purchase.
Cut a good stout sapling that has two branches (Fig. 43). Trim off all other appendages, and bend the two branches until the ends over-lap each other for some distance, bind the ends firmly and neatly together with waxed twine, if it can be had if not, with what string you have (Fig. 44).
Fasten the pole in a convenient position so that the hoop is about level with your face. If you want the net two feet deep, cut a number of pieces of twine seven or eight feet long, double them, and slip them on the hoop in the manner shown by the first string.(Fig 45)
Beginning at the most convenient point, take a string from each adjoining pair and make a simple knot of them, as shown by the diagram. Continue all the way around the hoop knotting the strings together in this manner. Then commence on the next lower row and so on until you reach a point where, in your judgment the net ought to commence to narrow or taper down. This can be accomplished by knotting the strings a little closer together, and cutting off one string of a pair at four equi-distant points in the same row.
Knot as before until you come to a clipped line ; here you must take a string from each side of the single one and knot them, being careful to make it come even with others in the same row. Before tightening the double knot pass the single string through and after tying a knot close to the double one cut the string off close. (See Fig. 45 A.)
Continue as before until the row is finished, only deviating from the original plan when a single string is reached. Proceed in a like manner with the next and the next rows, increasing the number of strings eliminated until the remaining ones meet at the bottom, being careful not to let one drop mesh come directly under another of the same kind.
A scoop-net can be made of a piece of mosquito netting by sewing it in the form of a bag, and fastening it to a pole and hoop made of a forked stick like the one just described.
