A GOOD FLY-EOD. 15 



powerful lift. lOin. rod. When I require a shorter rod, I re- 

 place the butt by the short handle, A (1ft. 6m.), which gives 

 me a stiff, springy little 9ft. 4in. rod, possessing extra- 

 ordinary casting power. I candidly do not believe a better 

 rod, or one more generally useful, could possibly be made. 

 The 9ft. 6in. rod gives me perfect control over any fish up to 

 31b., and enables me to get out 20yds. of line properly 

 and without much effort. That is saying a good deal for a 

 rod so short as this.* Of course a great deal depends on the 

 line, a subject to which I will refer presently. The great 

 objection to a short rod is that the line is apt to catch in 

 things behind the angler, especially when the wind is blowing 

 from the rod to the point at which the fly is aimed. But if 

 the steeple cast (see page 33) is adopted, this rarely happens. 



Split cane rods, if honestly and well made, and taken proper 

 care of, will last many years. They should be re-varnished 

 once a year. Information concerning their manufacture is use- 

 less to anglers, whose only safeguard is to go to one of the few 

 good houses for these rods. Greenheart rods, if properly made 

 of well-seasoned wood, are nearly as good as split cane rods, 

 and one-third the price. 



In fishing for chalk-stream trout, the most accurate casting 

 is requisite ; accurate casting against or along the wind, 

 requires a heavy line (tapered fine, of course, near the gut 

 cast) ; and a heavy line requires a powerful rod. The weak, 

 whippy things still found in many tackle- shops are only fit to 

 play fingerlings on. While the rod should be rather stiff, it 

 must not be thick and clumsy. The best greenheart rods are 

 built somewhat on the lines of the Castle- Connell rods — very 

 thin just above the. handle, with little taper until within 2ft. 

 or 3ft. of the point. If a rod is thin, and yet stiff, with a 

 good springy action like steel, you may be almost certain that 

 the wood is of good quality and well seasoned. Rods with 

 very slender top joints are almost useless for dry-fly fishing, as 

 without a certain amount of weight towards the top the line 

 cannot be picked off the water. 



* The makers intend to copy the rod in greenheari. Another first-rate rod is 

 described in Chapter III. 



