The Angler's Secret 



fishing and another that is used to deco- 

 rate the walls of a dining-room, library, 

 or camp. The first is too good to waste 

 on the wall and the other is too frail and 

 generally shoddy to angle with. The 

 cheap split-bamboo rod is impossible as 

 an implement of the smart fisherman. 

 Cast with it a few times and you will 

 notice that it gradually loses its spring, 

 and that it will sooner or later bend to 

 one position like a piece of ordinary cane 

 or barrel hoop. The fine split-bamboo 

 rod and the fine rods made of good steel 

 and wood greenheart, bathabara, lance- 

 wood, etc. when bent in the cast or play 

 of the fish will straighten again after being 

 released. The best is the cheapest, in 

 the long run, in fishing tackle as in every- 

 thing else. By best I do not mean the 

 fanciest. Gold buttons on a waistcoat 

 will not add to the wearing quality of the 

 material, and a diamond-studded reel 

 would not run any freer or last any 

 longer than the ordinary standard article. 



