THE ART OF FLY FISHING. 575 



it, where the rod proper joins the handle, so to speak. The object 

 of the maker of this kind of rod is to secure lightness, but he does 

 it at the expense of strength and eveiy other requisite. A proper 

 rod should have a suitable bulge of the but to tit the hand, and 

 from it taper gradually and uniformly to the tip. The rings should 

 not be too large, and yet large enough to permit the line to render 

 freely through them. 



As to reels, there are many varieties, made of nickel, brass, or 

 rubber, some of entirely new designs, and aiming by their construc- 

 tion to obviate serious faults that pertain to the original patterns, 

 now passing into disuse. Strictly speaking, there are but three dis- 

 tinct classes of reels, the salmon reel, holding two hundred yards 

 of line, the trout reel, holding twenty-five yards, both of large diam- 

 eter in proportion to their width, and the trolling reel, that should 

 hold at least fifty yards. The width of the latter is nearly equal to 

 its diameter, say three inches. The salmon reel is about four inches 

 in diameter, and the trout reel two inches. In reels, as in rods, the 

 requisites are strength combined with lightness, and a construction 

 that prevents the line from fouling around the crank when in play. 

 In angling, the reel performs a most important part, and its use and 

 action should be in perfect accord or correspondence with the play 

 of the rod and line. To render or retrieve, rapidly or slowly, ac- 

 cording to the exigencies of the case, giving or taking inch by inch 

 of line when the fish has the but, delivering freely when he runs, 

 or gathering in promptly when he makes his rushes toward you, 

 these are the objects of the intelligent angler, and the reel should 

 perform its duty promptly, or else the captive will either shake off 

 the hook or tear it out. To meet these requirements, clicks and 

 multipliers are employed. The cHck checks the line from render- 

 ing too freely, and the multiplier of course gathers in the slack with 

 multiplied speed at each revolution of the crank. Some recent in- 

 ventions have the click contrived so as to graduate the strain upon 

 the line, checking it almost entirely, or permitting it to run without 

 any check at all ; and there are those known as balance reels ; but 

 both are open to objections which need not be explained here. The 

 most serviceable for trout and salmon are the simple click reels. 

 Balance reels are more frequently used for trolling. The reel 

 should be invariably shipped behind where the hand grasps the 



