THE FITTEST ROD. 127 



a guide to a certain extent. He is a practical 

 man ; but, like the generality of local anglers, who 

 have had no opportunity of measuring themselves 

 with ubiquitous ones, he is full of conceit, and 

 thinks himself an angling Admirable Crichton. 



He says : ; I generally begin fishing in the shade 

 or under bushes in May, and continue it all the 

 three following months, which we call the four hot 

 months. Most anglers in those months fish only 

 in the mornings and evenings, unless the sky is 

 cloudy, and there is a brisk wind on the pools : 

 for there one may have very good sport, and kill 

 large fish. In these months, when there is no 

 wind and the sun is shining, from about ten o'clock 

 in the morning till four or five in the afternoon 

 is the best time for shade-fishing.' The author 

 then describes the fittest rod ; but on this point he 

 is not so good a judge as Mr. Elaine, who rightly 

 says : 4 A long and firm rod of twelve, thirteen, or 

 fourteen feet, with a very stiff top (a light, long, 

 minnow-spinning rod will be a good substitute), 

 is necessary for dibbing or daping the length to 

 be suited to the situation ; if it be a very close 

 and confined one, eleven or twelve feet are suffi- 

 cient ; but we rather recommend that the rod be 

 of the general length, and that the reel, instead 

 of being attached to the butt, be fastened on the 

 second joint, when, by taking off the butt-end, 

 the rod can be shortened as occasion suits. A reel 



