SPOONS AND HOW TO CAST THEM 235 



only makes the sport more attractive to the dis- 

 criminating angler. 



Consistently I have urged the short rod 5 foot, 

 or 5 foot, 6 inches now I am going to say that I 

 have discovered a place for the 6 foot, 6 inch caster, 

 where the latter will discount the former two to one. 

 I hasten to add, however, that the short rod can be 

 employed, I often use it to obviate carrying a second 

 one. This is the point, the ideal rod should be 

 light, willowy, though possessed of "back-bone," 

 and at least a foot longer than the regular rod for 

 "plugs." I have found a tournament rod almost 

 perfect. The only reason I do not like to go on 

 record as recommending the long rod, cut slim, is 

 because it is not built to withstand rough usage and 

 a careless angler may break it; for that man there 

 is but one tool, the regulation five foot rod, built 

 for service. Recently there came upon the market a 

 new casting rod, with two tips of different lengths 

 and weight, one of which should handle a spoon 

 fairly well for a short rod. 



For casting the ordinary, un-weighted spoon, I 

 am going to recommend to discriminating anglers 

 the free-spool reel, unhampered with spooling or 

 thumbing devise. So light is the lure that it has 

 little "pulling power" coining a word to fill a 

 need and it should not be asked to overcome one 

 unnecessary grain of inertia. Therefore it follows 

 that the better the reel, more accurately ground and 



