THE ROD 51 



Local conditions often influence the choice of a rod. 



The ideal condition is to have and use, except when 

 wading a stream of course, two rods. Carry both of 

 them in the boat with you, rigged ready for action. One 

 could be of steel or wood say 5 feet in length, for 

 use with a fairly heavy line; just the combination for 

 weedy, littered-up water, heavy fish, or the larger bait. 

 The other could be more on the "buggy whip" order. 

 Let it be of bamboo, 6 or 6^4 feet long to be used in 

 open water fishing, with the lighter lures and a light 

 line. 



HOME MADE RODS 



It is no reflection on the casting rod to say that it 

 is neither as expensive nor as difficult to make as a 

 fly rod. 



Many casters make their own rods and for the man 

 "handy with tools" it is not a great deal of labor and 

 an enjoyable and profitable pastime between seasons. 



Bamboo, making as it does such a nice rod, will 

 naturally be the first choice as to the material of most 

 beginners in rod making. Probably it is a good plan 

 to get the pieces of bamboo all glued up so that the 

 "making" of the rod is simply a matter of fitting the 

 joints, putting on handle, mountings, and guides, and 

 then winding and varnishing. Bamboo of this kind is 

 catalogued by big tackle dealers as "unmounted split 

 bamboo" and it comes usually in two or three grades. 

 What grade to buy depends on the confidence of the 

 man who is going to do the work. This work will 



