TROUT FLY-FISHING IN AMERICA 



hold of the hook from giving way, and this is the proper function 

 of a rod." 



This fly-rod that Dr. Henshall describes has "continu- 

 ous spring and yielding resistance . . . constantly 

 maintained." Now what do these words mean? They 

 mean to my mind, and I believe that I voice the view of 

 Dr. Henshall as well as many experienced fly-fishermen, 

 that this rod has, first, resistance which is constantly main- 

 tained; second, it has the quality known as yielding resist- 

 ance, and, third, on account of the yielding resistance, it 

 has a continuous spring under strain. In other words, 

 it is a "resilient" rod, not in any sense a "soft" rod. 



The degree of resilience that any fly-rod should possess 

 must necessarily be determined by the angler who is going 

 to use it, for he alone can tell whether or not it suits his 

 physical make-up and ability. 



Sixth — "Either through lack of experience or lack of confi- 

 dence in their own opinion ... if they have had any on the 

 point . . . many latter-day writers have echoed Dr. Hen- 

 shall's statement ... in some cases, word for word . . . 

 with the result that their readers have been misguided in their 

 selection of rods." 



And this is the way Mr. La Branche slurs at those 

 who have had the audacity to believe the same way about 

 fly-rods as does Dr. Henshall: 



"... many latter-day writers have echoed Dr. Henshall's 

 statement. ..." 



83 



