4 DIRECTIONS FOR SPINNING ROD. [PART I. 



glad some years ago to obtain that which I now 

 offer as the result of actual experience ; and, be- 

 lieving that the want has not yet been supplied, 

 I think it not improbable that others may still 

 be in the same case. 



Your spinning-rod (for Trout) should not be 

 shorter than twelve and a half, nor exceed sixteen 

 feet in length. For boat-work, and indeed when 

 fishing from the shore, if the water is sufficiently 

 deep along the side next you, and the bank clear, 

 one of about thirteen feet will generally be found 

 to answer every purpose: but for use off weirs, 

 or from the bank where the water runs shallow 

 near the shore, or is grown up with reeds, it is 

 generally advisable to have a somewhat longer 

 one. 



Cane is the best material for the whole of the 

 rod except the top, for which, in my opinion, 

 nothing beats simple hickory. A wood called 

 "green-heart" has been a good deal praised lately 

 as a material for tops, but I fancy it is, though 

 sometimes very tough and elastic, apt to run 

 faulty, and therefore not always to be depended 

 on. One great advantage of cane is its lightness, 

 a quality which, having due regard to strength, 

 can hardly be too much insisted on ; for a con- 



