Largemouth bass skin is tougher than pike or trout skin, and controlled fluorescein testing found no statistically significant epithelial-damage difference between control, rubber, and knotted nylon treatments for bass
You might also be interested to know that some of the earliest, clever American fly reels looked like birdcages, like the Billinghurst birdcage reel from the mid-1800s, which were side-mounted on the rod (photo at top of page)
It stays on the hook well in current and through multiple drops
You can adjust it easily, and some even let you fine-tune during a fight
For anglers living in the East Bay, the place was iconic
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