Excerpt: This Ain’t Provence
Excerpt: Bass Class
Bass Class
He then proceeded to paint a harrowing picture of the epic backlashes he had encountered over the years. The plot of these cautionary tales never varied: a monster bass was located, then lost, because — pfzit — a careless and overeager cast had resulted in a backlash.
“You must always keep your thumb in contact with the spool,” he explained, smothering the line with his big, callused thumb in case I missed the point. “Otherwise … ” He used his other hand to simulate a nest of tangled line.
But how, I wondered, could you manage to get the line out if you were clamping down on the spool?
His mustache twitched so much that I found myself reaching for my handkerchief. “Ah, but that’s the trick. You’ve got to guide it off the spool. Too much pressure and your lure won’t go anywhere. Not enough and …”
“Pfzit?”
“Exactly.”