62 AMERICAN FISHES. 



feet, is exactly up to my notion The weight should not exceed thir- 

 teen or fourteen ounces ; and above all, it should not be top-heavy. 

 In stormy weather, a very pliant rod, even in the hands of the best 

 angler, is very inconvenient and laborious ; and when used in such 

 weather, nothing short of constant care and exertion will save the flies 

 from snapping off. 



" You omit to mention the necessity for a spike in the butt. Every 

 fly-rod should have it. In case a new cast of flies is required, or any 

 change, what a convenience to have the rod erect, and the line hang- 

 ing down to your hand. How many rods get broken when stretched 

 on the ground, by some careless devil standing on the tip ; or the tip 

 being obstructed by weed or brier, in a sudden and careless lift. 



" You give no directions about the number of rings. A rod should 

 have sixteen. Avoid whalebone tip. There should be no percepti- 

 ble spring in a fly-rod before three and a half feet from the spike ; a 

 spring below that will inevitably make the rod top-heavy. Three 

 yards is the length of the casting-line, but never more than three and 

 a half. 



" You say ' the flies should be three in number.' Not always there 

 are exceptions, many exceptions. In confined streams, where there 

 are bushes, weeds, &c., one fly is as much as can be managed or used. 

 Also, in streams where the fish are very numerous, one fly is plenty, 

 particularly with the light tackle, which a gentleman and an angler 

 should use. In clear water, lakes and ponds, three flies are the proper 

 number. 



" Now to return to the casting-line. On a casting-line no loops of 

 any kind should be used, because they are unnecessary ; and every un- 

 necessary bulk, or uneven surface, which may make a splash, or 

 frighten fish, should be avoided. To the reel-line, splice a link of the 

 strongest gut ; that is, proportionate with the tapering gut of the cast- 

 ing-line, which is a fixture, until used up by constant cutting, when 

 another is put on. 



" Let the casting-line be nine feet, the largest and stoutest links at 

 the top, graduating to the bottom. To the bottom or last link, knot 

 the link upon which the tail or stretcher-fly is tied. Three feet from 

 the end of the casting-line, before the tail-fly is put up, or three feet 

 eight or nine inches from the tail-fly, use this knot : 



