Note 7 — PART I

Dr. Turrell, the author of that researchful book, Ancient Angling Authors, London, 1910, while of opinion that the “wheele” was in the course of time evolved from the “wind” of the troller, differentiates between their uses in fishing. Barker “put in a wind to turn with a barrell, to gather up his line and loose at his pleasure: this was his manner of trouling.” Walton’s words are, “a line of wire through which the line may run to as great a length as is needful when (the fish is) hook’d and for that end some use a wheele,” etc. The use of the “wind” as described by Barker in his first edition was simply to gather up the slack line in working the bait, “this was the manner of his trouling”; while that of Walton’s “wheele” was to let the line go, in playing the rushes of salmon, of which his experience seems mainly vicarious.

Sea-anglers of the present day prefer in many cases man-handling the line to using the reel: thus the Spanish fisherman on striking a tunny throws the whole Rod back into the boat, the crew of which seize the line (which is of great thickness) and haul the fish in by sheer brute force. (See The Rod on the Rivieras (1911), p. 232.)