FLY-ROD FOR TROUT FISHING 23 



It is quite certain that, no matter how good the rod 

 may be otherwise, if it does not suit you, is not adapted 

 to your particular method of casting (every angler de- 

 velops an individual casting method), if it is a little 

 too heavy in the tip, or possibly a shade too heavy in 

 the butt, or if for any reason the rod does not feel 

 right to you, it is a much better plan to choose an- 

 other rod than to try to accustom yourself to that 

 particular rod's peculiarities. The chances are that if 

 you try to get used to the rod, someone else will even- 

 tually own it, or it will occupy a very permanent place 

 in the rod rack. 



The split-bamboo rod of good grade possesses each 

 of the foregoing essential qualities in a greater degree 

 than rods of any other material. They 



are usually made of six or eight strips, The Spht- 

 , , i i r bamboo 



hexagonal or octagonal, and from two Rod 



varieties of cane, Calcutta and Tonkin, 

 the merits of which are about equal. Triangular 

 strips are split and fashioned from the whole cane and 

 cemented and bound together to form the rod joint. 

 Mechanical skill of the highest order is necessary, and 

 the fly-rods turned out by our best rod makers are 

 veritable works of art. The best rods are made en- 

 tirely by hand. 



The comparative merits of hexagonal or octagonal 

 rods have been the subject of long discussion, but at 

 present expert opinion is strongly on the side of the six- 

 strip rod. The chief argument against the eight-strip 



