Page:The American Boy's Handy Book edition 1.djvu/64

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. For black bass, pickerel, and many other fish, live minnows are the best bait. To catch them you need a net.

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