FISH : THEIR HABITS AND HAUNTS. 33 



only, and spliced in the middle : but this 

 is inconvenient to carry, and the jointed 

 rods are now brought to such perfection 

 that there is no doubt they will answer 

 every purpose of the spliced rod, besides 

 being more portable The Irish fly-rods are 

 screwed together at each joint, and are much 

 more elastic than the English rods. 



The trolling-rod should be very strong, 

 and not less than twelve nor more than six- 

 teen feet in length, with large rings upon 

 it, that the line may run freely. The rod 

 for spinning the minnow, or bleak, should 

 be of bamboo-cane, from eighteen to twenty 

 feet long, with a tolerably stiff top ; the 

 rings should be placed at a moderate dis- 

 tance from each other, and be of medium 

 size. 



The barbed rod, for angling with the 

 ledger bait, should have a stiff top and be 

 about eleven or twelve feet long ; but for 

 flood-fishing it must be made lighter and 



