224 FLY FISHING 



the reel sticks suddenly. There should be no 

 temporising or working on with a reel which 

 has once begun to play tricks; till it has been 

 overhauled and made good, trust it no more 

 than you would a watch which has taken to 

 stopping at odd times. 



For a first-rate rod it is generally agreed that 

 there is a choice of two materials greenheart 

 and split cane. Nothing throws a better line, 

 or is more pleasant to use than greenheart, but 

 it has one disadvantage, that of being more 

 brittle than split cane, and after breaking many 

 greenheart tops I have taken to having split 

 cane tops made for a greenheart salmon rod, 

 and have found them last better. The cost of 

 each top is only about thirty shillings, and a 

 rod so composed is, I believe, about as strong 

 as one entirely of split cane. 



For double-handed trout rods I know nothing 

 better than one entirely of split cane, and I 

 prefer it with a steel centre. 



For dry fly fishing and single-handed work 

 it seems to me that a split cane rod is cheaper 

 in the long run than any other. It should be 

 in two pieces only, and in delicate work with 



