312 AMERICAN ANGLER'S BOOK 



A good plan for protecting a rod from moisture, is to give 

 it a thin coat or two of boiled linseed oil, after staining it. 

 The oil should be applied warm, and rubbed well into the 

 grain of the wood. It should dry thoroughly before var- 

 nishing. 



In a rod for my own use I prefer a tip reasonably stiJff, and 

 the middle piece somewhat slight below the ferule that joins 

 it to the tip. This is what some anglers call a " top-heavy" 

 rod, which makes casting easier ; the tip being stif&sh, lifts 

 the line more readily from the water. 



Eeels. — A small light reel, which will hold twenty-five 

 yards of line, is best for Trout-fishing. One with a short 

 axle, which brings the plates of the reel close together, is to 

 be preferred; as it winds the line more compactly on the 

 spool. I have a simple click reel of this kind, which is two 

 inches in diameter and only three-quarters of an inch between 

 the plates. John Krider, at the north-east corner of Second 

 and Walnut streets, Philadelphia, generally keeps them on 

 hand, or will have them made to order. 



Lines. — A plaited or twisted line of hair and silk, tapering 

 for the last five or six yards, is by all odds the best for 

 Trout-fishing. 



Leaders. — A leader should taper gradually from the end 

 where it joins the line, to the end to which the stretcher-fly 

 is attached, and should be two-thirds or three-fourths the 

 length of the rod. I prefer making my own leaders to 

 buying them at the tackle stores. It is very easily done by 

 soaking the gut well, and using the angler's double knot. An 

 illustration of this knot will be found in another chapter. 



Flies. — In giving a list of flies best adapted to American 

 waters, I have done so without reference to the opinions of 

 English writers, considering many of their rules and theories 

 regarding flies inapplicable to our country. The observations 



