218 FLY FISHING AND SPINNING 



inches beyond the end of the thumb, when the rod is being: 

 held horizontally with the reel on, and the line in position, 

 and that the rod is properly tapered, the " action " of the 

 rod is the principal factor which determines its perfection. 



The weight of a good split cane trout rod may vary from 

 three-eighths to seven-eighths of an ounce per foot, up to a. 

 length of 9! feet, without affecting its usefulness or the 

 comfort of the angler. A dry fly rod should be about 

 9 feet 6 inches in length, and, always provided that the 

 action of the rod when ready for fishing is centred so that 

 no appreciable hit is noticeable in the wrist when the rod is 

 checked in its backward or downward action, the less whippy 

 the rod is the better will be its casting power and its excellence 

 as a dry fly rod. 



THE CONSIDERATION OF A STIFF AND OF A WHIPPY ACTION 

 IN A FLY ROD 



If we can imagine a rod which could be built absolutely 

 rigid from butt to top ring, it would during the back cast 

 when the hand controlling it had reached its back limit, 

 have done all it could do as regards transmitting the force 

 of the arm, and would be powerless to affect any farther the 

 backward movement of the line ; therefore, unless the 

 necessary lifting and backward impetus to the line had 

 by then been imparted, the back cast would be a failure. 



It follows that with an absolutely stiff rod the upward 

 and backward action necessary to effect the backward 

 extension of the line must take place while the hand is 

 moving, and however much force may have thus been 

 applied by the hand, no after assistance will be obtained 

 from the rod, as its backward action will cease with the 

 stopping of the hand action ; it has acquired no bend and 

 has therefore no further pull on the line. 



Under these conditions the energy employed to make a 



