574 OCEAN, LAKE, AND RIVER. 



being dispensed with altogether. Other rods of three joints have 

 the first and middle one connected by a ferrule, and the middle and 

 tip by a splice. Some makers use a screw ferrule, a device which 

 renders loop ties unnecessary, and prevents the rods from becom- 

 ing shaky at the joints by wear. We prefer a salmon rod of not 

 more than eighteen feet in length, though rods of twenty-one feet 

 are used ; but they are ponderous affairs. An expert can make a 

 sufficiently long cast and do all necessary execution with the for- 

 mer, while the only advantage of extra length is, when a tish is hors 

 du combat, to lift the line more easily over rocks and boulders that 

 may interfere with a clean run. 



Trolling rods are usually made of undressed bamboo, and are 

 about nine feet in length. They are stiff, but have elasticity enough 

 to enable the angler to feel his fish readily when it bites, and to 

 hook him with much more certainty than with a hand line. In se- 

 curing a fish after it has been hooked, the trolling rod is all import- 

 ant, for it permits a delicate manipulation and handling of the fish ; 

 whereas, if a hand line were used the hook would very often tear 

 out and let the fish escape. 



The selection of a rod requires a certain keen, acquired sense of 

 sight and touch, which adepts only possess — sight to detect any va- 

 riation from a perfect arch, and a touch that instinctively determines 

 the nice balance of the rod, and any sag or unequal distribution of 

 elasticity throughout its entire length when it is swayed backward 

 and forward by the hand and wrist. We would advise all novices 

 to let a professional select their rods for them. Discard all rods 

 with patent attachments of spikes, and the hke, to " hold " the rod. 

 Taboo those monstrosities ingeniously contrived " for convenience," 

 called " trunk rods " — rods stiffened with a multiplicity of ferrules, 

 and suited to all kinds of fishing, from a minnow to a mascalonge. 

 They are fit only for those who wish to still-fish with a worm and 

 a pin. We would prefer to put a fine delicate implement even into 

 the hands of a novice, rather than a ponderous stiff affair — that is, 

 if the novice can afford to break a half-dozen per season until he 

 has learned his art. One thing is certain, no one can become an 

 expert fly fisher by practice with a bean pole or wattle, no more 

 than he can play at battledore with a two pound weight. Also re- 

 ject any rods that have the but squared off where the hand grasps 



