THE YOUNG ANGLEB. 253 



rods, but especial care must be taken, when re-varnishing, to scrape 

 off the old surface before putting on the new ; and the same pre- 

 caution should be taken if the rods are carried to a fishing-tackle 

 warehouse to be repaired. A single-handed fly-rod ought to be from 

 12 to 15 feet long, and as light and elastic as possible ; a trout-rod 

 for trolling with minnow, about the same length, but stronger ; a 

 rod for worm-fishing, the same ; while a pike-rod ought to be strong, 

 stiff, and as straight as a dart, and need never be more than 14 feel 

 long ; the rings through which the line passes ought also to be a 

 good size and very strong, and the fewer of them there are on the 

 rod the better. For roach and dace, the rod must be adapted to 

 the fishing- ground, for sometimes the angler is stationed on a bank, 

 behind a foreground of reeds, flags, or willows, and his rod must be 

 long enough to reach far beyond these obstacles ; so that 20 feet is 

 not a bit too long for these wild, sedgy embankments, under which 

 roach and dace delight to shelter. The best rods are those made of 

 ash and lancewood. 



FISHING-LINES. 



The most serviceable lines are made of pure horsehair, for such as 

 are composed of hair and silk, from retaining the water, soon becom* 

 rotten : neither can they be thrown with the same precision, as they 

 get soft and flabby, and fall heavily on the water. Good lines 

 should be perfectly twisted, round, and without any irregularities, 

 and in point of colour those which are of a light grey, or brown, or 

 white, are the most useful; some anglers, however, prefer a lighl 

 sorrel tint. The bottom, or casting-line for fly-fishing, which i 

 affixed to the line on the reel, must be of gut, and of about tb 

 same length as the rod ; the gut should be strong at the top, anw 

 very fine at the " dropper," or bottom, and before any flies are made 

 upon it, it should be picked and tried to see that it is of an uniform 

 thickness throughout. 



It is hardly worth a lad's while to attempt manufacturing fishing- 

 lines, as they may always be purchased more neatly fabricated, and 

 at a much cheaper rate than he can make them, When fastening 

 the line on the rod, the loop of the line should be passed through the 

 ring at the end of the top joint, carried over the ferrule, and then 

 drawn up to the top again, by which plan the loop will be secured, 

 and the line hung from the extreme ring. 



Blakey, a great authority, in his deservedly popular work on 

 angling, says he prefers the old " cast- line of about 4 or 5 feet in 

 length, and from 4 to 6 or 8 hairs in thickness, on which to place 

 the gut and flies, as a line so prepared can be thrown much truer to 

 any given point." Lines for trolling are not required to be so light 

 and elastic as those used in fly-fishing. Horsehair lines are best. 



Floats can always be procured ready-made, of all sizes and every 

 variety of shape. For small fish and slow streams, quill floats will 

 be found the best ; and in strong and rapid rivers, or for the larger 



