THE ANGLER'S OUTFIT 27 



withstand the exigences of the beginner's 

 first season. Should he, nevertheless, prefer 

 to choose a greenheart rod, let him go to a 

 first-class maker, who will provide him with 

 sound material, absolutely straight in the 

 grain. Split bamboo, it is true, is more 

 expensive than greenheart, but lasts longer. 

 With a well-made split-bamboo rod of 9 feet 

 or 10 feet the beginner can afford to take 

 liberties, whereas a greenheart needs careful 

 usage. 



In order to throw the cast of flies accur- 

 ately and neatly, the rod must not be too 

 lissome or whippy. It should be fairly stiff 

 and resilient like a fine, well-tempered steel 

 blade and should spring right from the 

 butt. It is the spring of the rod, and not 

 the angler's arm, that is responsible for the 

 throwing of the flies ; therefore, a mettlesome 

 weapon is much preferable to one which 

 shows an inclination to droop. 



Next in importance to stiffness and resili- 

 ency, comes balance, for unless a rod is 

 balanced properly, even an expert angler 

 will fail to do good work with it. In the 

 great majority of cases the point of balance, 

 when the rod is laid across the angler's 

 finger, is much too far from the butt, and 

 so the rod is top-heavy. With a suitable 



