252 VARIOUS RODS 



estimate I formed when making a preliminary selec- 

 tion in a fishing-tackle shop, and that the practical 

 trial on a lawn frequently modified my first impres- 

 sion. It is only by rigidly applying the rules I have 

 laid down that a correct judgment can be made. Rods 

 rejected by experts will in the natural order of com- 

 merce be offered to novices ; a heavy, ill-balanced rod 

 will frequently disgust the beginner, and cause him to 

 abandon a sport which would have been a constant 

 delight, not only as regards his e very-day enjoyment, 

 but as filling with pleasant reminiscences the store- 

 rooms of his memory. 



VARIOUS RODS AND MAKERS 



In all cases I should advise the reader, when buying 

 a rod, to try three or more specimens of the particular 

 rod he is anxious to obtain, for although the rods of any 

 well-known pattern are as nearly alike as it is possible 

 to make them, still no two rods are exactly similar- 

 each having its own particular points of merit or de- 

 merit. Do not condemn a particular make of rod 

 because one of that make does not happen to suit you, 

 and, on the other hand, do not purchase any rod before 

 carefully trying its balance and action. 



I think that the great success of Hardy Brothers 

 of late years entitles them to take precedence when 

 dealing with the subject of split-cane trout rods. 

 Indeed, it is hardly necessary for me to draw atten- 

 tion to their very many good points, as nearly every 



