TESTING A ROD 251 



PLIABILITY OF THE ROD 



Unless the elasticity be relatively proportioned to 

 the strength or thickness of every part of the rod, an 

 unequal strain must fall on that part in which the 

 springiness is in excess of this relationship. 



Should such a part exist, then that portion of the 

 rod will suffer, and an imperfect action will be the 

 result. Pliancy should be in constant ratio to the 

 taper, that is, to the strength of the rod when well 

 built. 



This does not infer that the pliancy should increase 

 in a regular ratio as regards the distance from the 

 butt. 



When testing a rod by switching it backward and 

 forward in a horizontal direction, careful attention 

 should be given to the bend of the rod as it moves 

 from side to side, and by comparing the action of 

 various rods a good selection can be made. The lower 

 part should begin to show its pliability about 9 inches 

 above the handle. 



I cannot too strongly impress on my reader the very 

 great difficulty of choosing in any shop the rod which 

 will best suit his strength and style when fishing. 

 Careful attention to the hints I have given will mate- 

 rially assist the purchaser, but otherwise he will, unless 

 very experienced, be in the hands of the dealer, whose 

 strength, ability, taste, and desires may not always 

 be similar to his own. In selecting rods for my pupils, 

 I found that at first I was often mistaken in the first 



